The Diamond City Superhero
by Mr-Herp-Derp
Summary: Danny O'Connor, a bullied teen, is bestowed with superpowers and gains the reputation of a superhero, though he is reluctant to embrace it. Meanwhile, an evil that was sealed away a thousand years ago has been released, and seems to have it in for Kat and Ana. Can Danny protect Diamond City from this evil? Or will this evil finally get its revenge? Mona/FC
1. Prologue

Long awaited (by some at least) reboot of one of my old stories. Reworking the canon and everything from the ground up. So here's hoping everything goes smoothly this go around.

Prologue

Feudal Japan, One thousand Years Ago.

The smell of burning homes, the screams of dying innocents, and the blood on his hands. Ah, paradise. He was massive, not human at all. A towering purple demon, with powerful arms and legs, a long bony tail with a razor sharp arrow head tip, and red hair that stood up like fire on his head. His eyes were putrid yellow, with no pupils. He smiled, revealing his razor-sharp teeth, with blood dripping from his pronounced fangs.

"That was a good snack." He said, his voice deep and would scare most into weeping and begging for their lives. His smile vanished as quickly as it appeared. "But it was not enough. I need a more…filling meal."

"Demon!" Cried a voice behind him. The demon turned his head, not even turning all the way around to see who was challenging him this time. A wicked smirk,

"So," he said, "another fool from the Iga ninja clan comes to challenge me." He turned all the way around, flexing his muscles to show off his claws. "These claws are stained with the blood of your brothers and sisters. Tell me, what can you do that they could not? You cannot kill me and you know it!"

"That's what your brothers said." The lone figure said evenly, not showing even the faintest trace of fear. He was tall and lean, but his outfit obscured everything about him, save for his piercing green eyes. "You know that you can bleed. I'm about to show you that you can die as well." The demon laughed.

"Big words for such a puny warrior. I do not know where your fellow Iga ninjas have gone, but I know that you are about to join them." The demon lunged at the lone hero with a furious roar, but the hero sidestepped with ease and slashed him across the back, which caused the demon to scream in pain and fury. The warrior sprang forward, slashing the demon across the chest twice, in an X shape, causing his blue blood to drip from his chest. The demon swung his arm with enough force to knock the warrior's head clean off, but the warrior ducked in the nick of time and stabbed two Kunai into the demon's knees.

But the knees were much denser than the warrior had counted on, so they only broke the skin, which more annoyed the demon than hurt it. In response to this, the monster brought his leg up with deadly speed and accuracy, knocking the warrior back several feet before he used his metal claws to end his slide. But this gave the demon time to lunge again, grab the warrior by the throat, and lift him up off the ground. He then slammed the hero down hard.

"You played a good match," said the demon, planting a foot on the hero's chest, "but it looks like it ends in pain and screaming for you."

"Don't count on it!" The hero shot back, which caused the demon's face to contort in anger.

"Even in the face of your own death," snarled the monster, "you are flippant and defiant. I was going to give you a quick death because I was in a good mood, but you have closed that door." But faster than the demon could register, the hero's hand disappeared from view. When it returned, it held a shining white gem. The demon tried to brace himself, but too late, the gem flashed a powerful white light. The demon felt his body burning, the steam billowing off his frame confirming it. He stepped off the warrior and roared in pain. This gave the warrior time to rise and use his secret weapon.

It's now or never! Thought the hero, and pulled out an unusual sword. The hilt was a dark purple, the bottom of the handle decorated with the head of a wicked looking monster. The blade was as black as sin, and the hero gripped the purple handle tightly in his hand.

"Demon!" He snarled, "I banish you into the Blade Of Sin, where your brothers are! You will never escape! And you will wither away until you die." The hero prepared to throw it, knowing he only had one chance. If he missed he may never get another shot. He threw the blade with deadly accuracy at the monster, who was still recovering from the attack. As the blade neared its prey, it began to glow an evil shade of blackish purple, and pierced through the demon's torso. The monster flinched, but checking himself to see minimal blood from the new wound, he looked at the hero with a wicked smirk.

"I do not know what you tried to do," he taunted, "but it did not work." He began to walk towards the hero menacingly…or at least he tried. He found that his steps were greatly hindered, like a mortal trying to walk up a swift river. He turned around, and he realized what he had fallen for. He was slowly being dragged into the black vortex created by the blade. The monster tried to escape for all he was worth, but to no avail. When he realized his chances to escape this trap were nonexistent, he looked at the hero with a venomous glare; if looks could kill, the hero's flesh and muscle would be ripped from his bones by fiery hands.

"Mark my words!" snarled the monster, "I will escape this blade, no matter how long it takes. And when I do, I will track down every last descendant of the Iga Ninja Clan, and give them a slow and painful death." The hero said nothing in response, allowing the sword to do its work. Finally, the demon succumbed to the portal and was gone in the blink of an eye. The vortex closed itself and the sword ceased to glow, save for a red flash in the monster's left eye, as if winking at the hero, thanking him for the meal. The hero stood silently, as rain began to fall from the sky and pelt his body with icy cold drops. Hardly a worthy reward for him, but he simply stood there, allowing the rain to wash away the blood.

He bowed his head, uttering a silent prayer to one deity or another for the victims of the monster, before he looked up, sensing someone. He saw before him two of his allies. One of them faced him, the other one looking at the sword.

"You have done well." The first one said to him. The hero nodded.

"We must seal the blade away." The one eying the sword said. "Should it ever be touched by greedy hands, the demons will be freed." The figure grasped the sword, and placed it in a sheath hidden in the back of their outfit. Then as quick as a wink, they were off.

…

By sunrise, the figure was at their destination. A massive fortification, so big it blocked the sunrise where they stood. The figure walked to the steep and numerous steps of the place, stopping only to acknowledge the statue of Fusajiro Yamauchi, the man to whom they owed their livelihood. Then they ran swiftly as a gust of wind up the steps, getting to the top faster than most athletes of future generations could ever dream of, then stepped through the doors. Inside was a man sitting in the lotus position on a stoop, surrounded by candles and incense. Though their footsteps were silent, the old men looked up at them as if they had made a single noise.

"Is it done?" he asked, in a raspy voice, a face weathered by experience and combat.

"Yes, master." Said the guest, bowing, showing the hilt of the evil sword. "He has succeeded, and the demons that have plagued this beautiful land for far too long, have been sealed away." The master nodded.

"We must guard this sword." The master's face turned solemn, "I know you are capable of this task. I just wish it were not my own daughter who would be the one who…" The old man's heart jumped to his throat, and the ninja strode over to comfort him.

"It is alright, Father." She said, "I do not regret what I must do. I will guard the sword to my last breath. Tell my husband I love him."

"It is a shame," said the old master, "that this hero's reward for saving our land is the loss of his wife."

"It is hard," said the wife, choking back her own tears, "but it is for the benefit of our land, and of all of mankind. These monsters must never be allowed to escape." With no more words, concluding what would be the last time the two spoke, the femme fatale slipped into a corridor. She pressed her hand into a certain stone on the wall that looked like it was simply part of the decor, and it technically was. But pressing this stone caused the wall to slide back and part, revealing a convenient rope, which climbed down for several stories, before finally reaching her destination. A massive underground room that few knew about, even inside the Iga Ninja Clan. The ceiling was very high, the walls very far apart, and at the center of the room was a massive round alter of sorts.

It was decorated with heads of monsters and demons, the same monsters and demons that now called this sword their home. She walked up the stairs, ignoring the hateful glares carved into the statues around her, and finally reached the top. Here, in a small open-air stone room, rested a hole in the floor, for something to be inserted. The ninja took the evil sword and inserted the blade into the alter. She nearly flinched and drew her regular weapon when she saw the demon she thought had been sealed away, only to realize it was another statue.

Satisfied the danger was only imagined, the ninja turned around, and sat down in the lotus pose, allowing her mind to slip into a meditative state. She knew she would never see the sun again, and that she would have to learn to breathe the air down here, rather than the fresh air above. And the only people she would ever see were those who would bring her food and water, for she could not guard the sword if she starved to death. She almost began to weep at the final realization that she and her husband would never meet again, but she had planned ahead for this; her sister would take her place as her husband's wife, and they would be the ones to conceive. The woman pushed the thoughts out of her mind for the last time and allowed herself to become one with the room, and her new job.

…

Diamond City, Present Day

The rock star strummed the strings of his guitar, in front of thousands of screaming fans. The lights shining bright about him, and he ignored the sweat they brought, and focused on pleasing the people in front of him, but one in particular. He cast his eyes down to the audience, and there he saw her. The one whom he adored, the one whom led him to his great position today, and the one whom he proudly called his girlfriend. He jumped off the stage and approached her, the only thing holding them apart was the waist high barrier between them, yet he never missed a beat.

He sang his love ballad for her right there in front of her, and she fawned over him. Then the two got closer, preparing for their sweet kiss. But that all changed when her head grew massive, and she began to scream in a piercing shriek. This caused the whole place to crumble, and a massive piece of rubble was ripping from the ceiling and heading straight for him. His feet became glued to the floor, so he braced himself for the end.

Then he jolted awake in his bed. No fans, no arena, and worst of all, no girlfriend. The shrieking sound had been his alarm clock. Oh goody, it was time to get up and go to Diamond City Prison, or rather, Diamond City High School. It may as well have been prison though.

"Crappy food." Mused the teen, getting out of bed and heading downstairs for breakfast. "Thick windows, and needing a hall pass to go darn near anywhere. That's probably what prison is like at least." He simply prepared a bowl of cereal and some toast, and quickly ate them before heading back upstairs to shower. He knew she'd be awake soon, and he wanted to be out of here before then. But as he headed back down the stairs, he could already smell the bourbon…too late.

"Have fun at school," his mother slurred, "and try not to get sick; I'm too sloshed to come get ya."

"Mom, seriously." He began, but the woman with curly but messy brown hair, pasty skin, and bloodshot eyes pointed a finger at him.

"Daniel Albert O'Conner," His mother said, "don't you dare lecture me. You have your demons, I have mine." Danny didn't have time for this, so he simply nodded and left. His blonde hair blew in the wind, his small nervous frame clad in an orange T-shirt, blue jeans, and white sneakers with a green backpack on his shoulders. Danny couldn't believe it. Here he was, a senior in high school with a drunk mom, no dad, and an army of bullies waiting for him. His only friend in the world was Mona, a kind girl who always stood up for him. Danny could only hope she was here today. He looked at the rising sun as he walked to school. The sky was red, and he'd seen this many times, but something was oddly eerie about this sunrise.

"Red sky in the morning," Danny muttered to himself, "nerds take warning." He walked past an electronics store, with many TV's in the window. Since he had time, he stopped to observe.

"And in a week's time," the news reporter said, "Wario's comet will pass the Earth, as it does once every twenty years. But what's interesting, is that some scientists believe this comet to be radioactive, which could be a disaster if it were to strike earth." Danny dismissed this and resumed his trek. But he was barely able to get onto school grounds before he felt his bag ripped from his shoulders. Oh joy, here it comes.

"Ya want it, loser?" taunted a voice behind him. Danny turned around to see his usual bully, and some of his cronies.

"Seriously?" Asked Danny, "do you just have nothing better to do than pick on people weaker than you? Come on, Nick, what's wrong? Did your mom love everyone but you?" Nick was way too easy to insult, even for him. But a glare in his eyes told Danny that today wasn't a good day for insults.

"Got some nerve, O'Conner!" said Nick in a dangerous tone, "insulting me on my birthday? Ugh! Get him!" Danny tried to turn and run, but he was quickly tackled to the ground. But before the beating could begin, he heard a voice.

"Get off him!" The voice filled him with comfort and relief. Here she was to save his hide. The bullies scrambled up and off him, scattering like ants until only Nick himself remained.

"I don't care if it's your birthday!" Asserted Mona, placing a firm finger on Nick's chest, "bullying isn't cool. It's like you WANT me to report you, because you never seem to learn." Mona was just a touch shorter than Danny, with long and ample orange hair that ran to the middle of her back, wearing a red mini dress that ran down to her thighs, with knee high red boots and a white coat that ran down to meet the boots finishing the outfit. Nick's face changed from one of fury to one of happiness.

"Hey, baby, how you doin'?" He tried to flirt, but Mona wouldn't have it. She shoved him back,

"Step off, creep!" She nearly shouted. Nick grunted, then sighed, before wandering off to parts unknown. Even if the rest of the world hated him, at least Mona didn't.

"Thanks, Mona." Said Danny, "At least I can count on you."

"No worries, Dan." She said with a wink, "but you gotta learn to stick up for yourself, ya know. I can't always be there." A buzzing sound could be heard. "Listen, I'd love to stay and chat." She said, "But I got to go practice with the Monettes for the big game next week. See ya around." Then without a word, she was gone.

…

From there, School whizzed by, and the next thing Danny knew, he was walking home. The sky had gone from eerie red to dismal grey, the slamming rain confirming the rotten weather. Danny trudged through the rain. Up ahead, he saw something that scared him; that old ratty mansion. He didn't know who lived there, if anyone, but he had an eerie feeling already, and he needed this mansion like he needed a bag on his hip. Danny looked around, trying to find a way around. But with the street bustling with cars, Danny knew the only way was to walk past.

So, he picked up his pace and jogged past the mansion. He was almost home free, when suddenly, something struck him, causing him to fall down to the ground in a heap. Danny stood and looked around, soon seeing a small red demon looking thing. He was short, not even up to Danny's knee. He had a spike of black hair atop his head that ran like a triangular shadow down his forehead, and white horns protruding from the sides of the shadow. His eyebrows were black, his eyes blue.

He had red ears protruding from the sides of his head, like a deer's ears, with yellow dimples on the sides of his mouth, where his wicked smile showed small but sharp white fangs with his red tongue. From here, the color red ran down to his belly, then his legs and pelvic area were brown, like a pair of pants…or were those just pants? He carried a grey trident, which completed the look of a typical, but oddly cute, devil.

"Did you just- "He began to ask as he began to stand, when suddenly, an even sharper pain came to the back of his head. Danny fell again, beginning to lose consciousness. Then he felt hands grab his arms and he felt the concrete scraping his abdomen and legs; he was being dragged, and judging by the circumstance, it was into the mansion. Danny's worst fears were confirmed. He could only pray to any deity who would listen for help now.

Prologue done, let me know what you guys think.


	2. From Zero To Guy With Superpowers

Chapter One.

From Zero to...Guy With Superpowers.

Danny snapped awake. His terrified brain began searching for an excuse for the events that knocked him out to be untrue. It was a dream! He'd had too much sugar last night! Something! Anything for this nightmare to end with him waking up, safe in his bed. But no. Eventually, he had to face the facts; the kidnapping had been real. As he began to come to his senses, he began to realize he could not move his arms, and was only able to kick his legs helplessly.

Further time led him to realize he was also hanging sideways, his legs and neck drooping uncomfortably. Then his hearing kicked on again, and he heard the sound of bubbling liquid below him. He managed to crane his neck down to look, terrified of what it could be.

He was being suspended over a vat of green bubbling liquid. He could feel the heat radiating off it, like sticking your hand over a campfire. Only it was his whole body and he couldn't pull it away.

"You're finally awake." Mused a voice, making Danny jump, startled, causing his rope to sway. He couldn't see the speaker, but he knew they were near. "I must say, you were easier to catch than any other ingredient."

"Ingredient?!" Asked a bewildered Danny, "You capture people for ingredients?! You...You cannibal!"

"You silly fool," The voice said, almost condescending, like a parent scolding a young child. "I am not going to eat you. I am going to use you as an ingredient for my spell. To make all of Diamond City fear me and bow to me."

"Are you crazy?" Demanded Danny, failing to see the logic behind this, "Do you really think that's gonna work?!"

"Silence, peon!" stated the voice, the tone so cold, the words could fall to the ground and shatter on impact, "I do not expect you to understand. I expect you to accept your fate. I, the Great Witch Ashley, have no patience for defiance!" Danny couldn't help but fall silent, wondering what he could have done to deserve this. And to think, he was about to die before telling Mona how he really felt. This thoughts were breached by Ashley's voice again.

"Red, pull the switch." Danny's ears picked up a sound near him.

"Yes, Ashley!" Was that the little demon? He didn't have time to wonder, because he felt the jolt of a sudden drop. The green bubbling liquid getting closer quickly. The next thing he knew, his body was overcome by major heat. The liquid, whatever it was, was so hot it felt cold. The rope practically withered off him, allowing him to flail his arms and kick his legs in pain and agony. The pain and anguish in his body began to fade. Danny thought he was dying, but something else was happening. The feeling in his body soon returned, only now it was a tingling feeling, and another feeling was beginning to flood his body, one he'd never felt in his life.

…

"Boy," said the little demon, "he's sure taking a long time to fry."

"Patience, Red." Said Ashley. "I know this spell will work; I can feel it in my-" but suddenly, there was a loud splash, causing Red and Ashley to skip back. Ashley looked up from bracing herself. The liquid in the cauldron was still sloshing around. She looked inside, but could not see her ingredient. Curious, Ashley grabbed Red.

"Find him!" she instructed, and threw him into the boiling liquid. A few fruitless minutes later, Red emerged, steam billowing off his body.

"He's not in here." Ashley was about to shove Red back down to look more, but then she felt a chill, and the feeling of her hands getting wet. She looked up, and growled in frustration.

"Red!" She snapped, pointing up, "you made the mixture too hot!" Red looked up to see what she was so mad about, only to realize that there was a gaping hole in the ceilings above, exposing the stormy sky.

"S-sorry, Ashley." Red apologized.

…

The wind was whooshing in Danny's ears like someone was blowing air into them with hurricane strength. It was stinging tears to his eyes. Danny had no idea what was happening, but at least he wasn't in the cauldron anymore. In fact, he felt like he was freezing, like jumping into a swimming pool after spending a while in a hot tub. Gradually, the wind began to slow down, and Danny could see and hear again...and what a sight it was. Danny could see Diamond City sprawled out below his feet, the twinkling lights looking like toy houses in a child's playset. This was a problem, though; Danny was afraid of heights.

"I wanna get down!" He yelled to no one in particular. Then suddenly, the freefall began. He was flailing his arms, terrified he'd land right back in the cauldron again. Just as he accepted the end of his life, he felt the sensation of slowing down. Danny was still going down, but much slower now, like a plastic bag floating in the breeze.

"Can I…?" Danny mused, and attempted to ease himself in one direction. And to his surprise, he found he was able to control his direction. He even had time to move his feet to the ground before he landed. Then, Daniel O'Connor stood on the ground, just outside the mansion he'd flown from. Danny decided not to wait for the door to open, so he took off and ran, never stopping until he made it home. Despite all of what had happened, he wasn't even remotely tired. He felt like he could run a whole marathon. Danny then walked onto his front porch and opened the door. The sound of the TV roaring made him groan, and then came the sound of his mother yelling at one thing or another. Danny tried to ease the door shut, but shut it with much more force, causing it to slam loudly.

"Who the hell-" His mother began to curse, getting up from the couch and storming into the room. Her eyes fell upon him, causing her to stop yelling. Only for it to start again soon thereafter.

"Where the hell were you?!" She shouted, stomping over to him. "God you had me so worried! I swear if you do that again, you're dead meat, mister! Do you hear me?!" Danny almost snapped at his mother, but stopped. She had been worried for him. That was new. Danny didn't think she cared.

"S-sorry, mom." Danny began, "I just got a bit sidetracked on the way home. Just checking out some spooky old mansion. Won't happen again." The answer seemed to satisfy his mom, as she said no more and returned to the couch to resume her ranting. If Danny had had an appetite earlier, he'd lost it. He went to his room, exhausted from the happenings. Then he gently lay on his bed and threw the covers over himself, falling asleep in seconds.

Or at least that was what he wanted to happen. In reality, Danny's body was in pain and anguish again, like he'd been thrown back into the fires again. He tossed and turned for an unknown amount of time, trying to get to sleep. He nearly vomited a few times as well.

"What the hell is going on?!" Demanded Danny to no one in particular, wanting the pain to end. "What's wrong with my body?!" After a while, the pain began to subside. Danny could breathe normally again and felt no pain. Finally, he could rest. Little did he know, he would need his rest.

…

Danny's alarm clock rang again. He snapped awake, but this time from a dreamless sleep. He brought his hand down onto his alarm clock, but something happened. He smashed it to pieces, and the nightstand under it cracked as well. Danny shot up in alarm, before trying to brush it aside and head to the bathroom to brush his teeth. He turned the knob on the sink to start the water, and managed to completely remove it from the fixture. Surprised, Danny felt his feet slip out from under him, and he tried to catch himself on the sink, only to smash it to pieces.

"What in the world is going on?" Asked Danny, as he gingerly eased himself into his clothes and gingerly walked to school, lest the concrete crack under his supposed new strength.

…

Just before lunch, Danny was putting something away in his locker. He'd figured he was managing his new strength well for now, and so far had managed to mask it to everyone else. Suddenly, his locker slammed shut in his face. Danny practically groaned; this was the last thing he needed now, as he turned to face his bully.

"You know, O'Connor," said Nick, his rotten breath making Danny cringe, "you pissed me off real good yesterday. Worst. Birthday. Ever." Danny rolled his eyes, which irked Nick further,

"And what do you propose you do about it?" Asked Danny, not in the mood for this tomfoolery.

"That does it!" Nick grabbed Danny's wrists. "I'm gonna break your little wrists." His cronies cheered behind him. Danny just looked down as Nick bent his wrists up, but they didn't budge beyond that. Nick let out a frustrated growl.

"Oh yeah, tough guy?!" He asked, "Well I think somebody's earned himself the flying headbutt!" Nick grabbed Danny's shirt collar and flung his head back, much to the delight of his cronies. Then he jumped in the air and slammed his face into Danny's head. Rather than Danny collapsing in a heap on the ground as before, the wouldbe victim didn't even feel it, not even beginning to flinch.

Nick, on the other hand, staggered backwards before falling down to the floor, grabbing his face and groaning like he just tried to stand up to a professional boxer and was defeated in one hit. His cronies all skipped back, looked at Danny, then Nick, then Danny again, before turning tail and fleeing. Danny could hear the mumbles around him.

"Woah, did you see that?"

"O'Connor just took down Nick without even touching him."

"Serves the fatass right."

"How'd he do that?!" Suddenly, Danny heard the sound of someone walking up to him.

"Great Job, Dan!" Cried a voice. Danny turned around to see Mona. "That'll teach that bozo to mess with you anymore. What's your secret?!" Everyone leaned in, wanting to hear the answer to that question.

"Ah, well… I've been working out." Danny offered; saying he was dropped into a vat of green liquid by a witch would be just a smidge harder to believe, he figured.

"Well whatever you're doing," said Mona, "it's working wonders! I'd love to see Nick mess with you now."

…

An hour and a half later, Danny was at lunch. He was eating his food, trying not to make eye contact with anyone. The whole school, more or less, had come to give their two cents on Danny's accidental defeat of Nick. Most came to congratulate him on putting that bully in his place, others had told him he should have used less violent methods, even though Nick had been the violent one; you can't get much more pacifistic than just standing there. Danny looked up to the sound of a tray being put on the table in front of him. Once again, it was Mona. Danny wasn't sure why she was hanging out with him so much more now, but he wasn't complaining.

"A hero shouldn't be sitting all by himself you know." Said Mona.

"Hero?" Asked Danny, "A bit overselling don't you think?"

"You just took down the biggest bully in the school," Mona reminded him, "without even touching him. If that's not a heroic quality, I don't know what is. Do you have any idea how much less lunch money was stolen today versus yesterday?"

"Knowing Nick," Said Danny, "he won't stop for long, he'll be up to his old tricks again real soon."

"I doubt that." Mona countered.

"Why?" Asked Danny, before biting into a piece of microwave pizza.

"He locked himself in the detention room, terrified that you were gonna bust down the door and give HIM a wedgie for a change." Danny chewed thoughtfully, then swallowed before saying,

"Don't tempt me." Mona began laughing, and Danny couldn't help but laugh with her. But the laughter ended early when a loud bang sounded behind them. Danny was sitting between Mona and the wall, thus protecting her from the debris of the explosion. Students began to panic as a big man walked in.

"What's up, future slaves?" Asked his big booming voice, aided by a device to distort it. He was a towering, massive man, wearing silver armor, with emphasized gauntlets, boots, and helmet. "My name is Wrecking Crew, and me and my gang are taking over Diamond City! So I hope you enjoyed your freedom, because that's ending." Danny turned to face him. Something was happening inside Danny, something making him stand his ground, rather than flee in terror.

"What are you lookin' at, short stack?" Demanded Wrecking Crew, "You gotta beef with me?"

"Well yeah," Danny shot back, "You can't just-" Wrecking Crew didn't let Danny finish, as his helmet began to glow. A piercing laser shot out of it, striking Danny in the chest. He was sent flying back, leaving a massive hole in the wall, yet didn't seem hurt. Mona started to run towards him, but felt a strong hand grab her arm.

"And where do you think you're going, cupcake?" Wrecking Crew heaved Mona over his shoulder. "You'll make a nice addition to my harem!"

"Over my dead body!" Shouted Mona defiantly, smacking her fists into his back as hard as she could, but Wrecking Crew ignored it and kept walking, only to find a wall of police cars in front of him.

"Let her go!" Demanded a voice over a loudspeaker, "put your hands up and get down on your knees." Wrecking Crew chose not to listen. He raised his hands and slammed his gauntlets together, causing a massive shockwave to send all off the police cars flying back, and one of them even tumbled. The the towering messmaker continued walking like this had never happened.

Meanwhile, Danny stood up. He was full of something he hadn't felt in a long time; rage. Without thinking, Danny began sprinting, stopping only to lift the cop car back onto its wheels.

"He went that way." Said the cop, pointing to the south. Danny began running; he'd save Mona, and show Wrecking Crew just who he was messing with.


	3. The New Hero In Town

Chapter Two.

The New Hero In Town.

The nervous reporter stepped out of the news van, her cameraman slowly following.

"I'm scared, Roxy." The cameraman said.

"Me too, John." Said Roxy.

"Well, you're hiding it better than me." John replied, nervously sliding his camera out of its case and placing it on his shoulder.

"Externally, anyway." Replied Roxy, "come on, we don't want to keep our new rulers waiting."

"Why can't the police stop them? How about the army?" John asked, a little louder than intended.

"All we can do," said Roxy in a quiet tone, "is hope that someone can." The two silenced themselves and walked up the stairs to the large man. They walked up just in time to see him drop a girl on the ground. She was wearing a red dress, with red boots and a white coat. Her orange hair bounced as she was dropped.

"Take her to the harem room," said the large man, "I'll be visiting shortly." Two men in all black get ups with machine guns on their backs grabbed the girl by the arms and hoisted her up. Apparently, she wasn't going down without a fight.

"Let go of me you crazy bozos!" She asserted, managed to rip her hand out of one of their holds and strike him in the groin. The man grunted, before collapsing to one knee like he was about to propose. Roxy had hope she could get away. But just then the sound of a whip cracking came out. A black thread, but one made of black metal and rubber, wrapped quickly around the girl's wrist, causing her to grunt in pain and surprise.

"Get your head on straight!" Said a woman's voice, in a dialect Roxy couldn't quite place. The speaker was tall and lean. Her skin was pale, almost snow white, and her long black hair ran unfettered down to the middle of her back. She wore a black jumpsuit with black finger-less gloves.

"Good work, Ivory." Said the large man. "Escort her to the room, and if she misbehaves again, show no mercy." Ivory nodded, jerking the whip back, causing her captive to stumble towards her. Ivory then grabbed her by the back of the neck.

"Consider this mercy," she said, "this is your only warning." Then without another word, Ivory began to walk off with her captive. Roxy didn't know where they were going, but she silently prayed that the girl would be okay. The big man turned his cold gaze to them.

"Well," he said, "I'm waiting." Roxy nodded, walking up to him and standing next to him. John uneasily turned the camera on.

"We're live in five, four, three." He began the countdown. Roxy made sure everything was fine before going live. When the red light turned on, she began her spiel.

"Good evening, Diamond City. I'm Roxanne Ridges, reporting live from what used to be an abandoned prison, but is now Diamond City Hall. We...we've been taken over by-" Before she could finish, the big man grabbed the microphone harshly.

"Thanks, Miss Ridges," said the man, brutally shoving her to the side. "I'll take it from here. What's up losers of all generations? I am Wrecking Crew. Your new ruler! For the last five years, my crew and I have hid in the shadows, posing as a mild street gang. But now, we're coming out and we're taking charge. All of you are instructed to go to your nearest Police Station, or, rather, Wrecking Crew Hub, and register as slaves. Anyone refusing to do this will be-" suddenly, there was the sound of a powerful punch, and the scream of a man who went for an unexpected flight. Wrecking Crew looked up, just in time to see a man whiz by the camera. John quickly looked in that direction; had his prayers been answered? Was someone standing up to the terrorists? All he could see was a blonde kid with his fists up, as more of the goons approached him, weapons up.

"Ten million dollars," Roared Wrecking Crew to his men below, "to the man who brings me his head!" John couldn't take his eyes, or the camera, off the upcoming fight.

…

Danny balled his fists as more men came. Three charged at him at once.

"Come on!" Cried one of them, "he can't take us all out at once!" Danny threw a punch, the blow powerful enough to smoothly knock all three men down, one by one, in one swing.

"I guess I can after all!" Taunted Danny, then looked up. The men all fired. Danny braced himself, afraid he'd been too cocky. Nick's fat head was one thing, but bullets, and several of them, were a totally different animal. But to his amazement, when the guns went off, it didn't all go black for him. Danny looked up, to see the bullets were simply bouncing off his skin. These bullets felt more like bug bites than lethal projectiles, and were actually kind of annoying.

"What the-" The man closest to Danny asked, alarmed, but didn't get to finish because of a punch to the jaw that launched him into the air.

"Who are you?!" Demanded another soldier.

"Who am I?" Danny asked, "Let's just say I'm the end of the line." More henchmen charged, but Danny was never hurt by any of their attacks, he continued his assault of the gang turned terrorist group.

…

Jeez, this lady has a grip of steel. Mona mentally whined as she was harshly dragged by the neck down a dimly lit hallway. A million thoughts were racing through her head, but the chief thoughts were of Danny. Mona wasn't sure what had happened to him in the last twenty four hours, but he'd gone from getting beat up by bullies to standing up to terrorists in no time flat. Of course she didn't buy his story of just "working out", unless he was working out with a routine that would make most Olympic athletes tap out halfway through. Suddenly, there was the scratch of static, as a radio came to life.

"Ivory!" cried the voice of Wrecking Crew, "we've got trouble. Get that bimbo to the harem room and then get back here. Just be ready to split, just in case." Ivory took the radio from her belt and pressed a button,

"Affirmative." She said into it, before putting it away and picking up the pace, to the point Mona had to trot to keep up with her. Finally, the two reached a door. Mona's neck was sore to high heaven and she was panting a bit, even for someone as in shape as her. Ivory, however, didn't even have a drop of sweat on her forehead. The ebony haired woman opened the door and shoved Mona inside.

"Wait here." She commanded, "Whatever threat is happening will be over soon enough." Then she slammed the door, narrowly missing Mona's nose, and the sound of a powerful deadbolt locking played out. Mona turned, to see about five other women sitting in the room. The room was dirty, furnished by two couches that had seen better days, a coffee table with some woefully outdated magazines, and an obvious lack of windows. The girls were all around Mona's age, beautiful women with tear stained faces.

"Hi," one of them offered weakly, "don't worry too much...you get used to it after a few months."

"What's your name?" Another asked.

"My name is Mona." Said Mona, "and we can't just sit here, we have to get out of here and get back to our lives." The women looked at each other uneasily.

"We...we can't." Said another one, "If we try to escape, Ivory will…" She didn't finish her sentence, but rather turned around and lifted her ratty shirt, showing deep scars on her back. Mona fell silent, her mouth hanging ajar before eventually shutting. She remembered something about a threat that Wrecking Crew mentioned; could it be Danny? Now more than ever, Mona needed a hero.

…

Danny walked closer to the compound, a number of knocked out bad guys in his wake. He looked up at Wrecking Crew.

"Is that all the men you brought?" asked Danny, "I'm barely warmed up here." Wrecking Crew's face twitched in anger, before he jumped down, the ground shaking as he landed, causing Danny to stumble a bit.

"You may have taken down my men!" he snarled, "but I won't go down so easily. I'm gonna enjoy breaking those bones in your body, you little snot." Wrecking Crew charged at Danny, but the young hero stepped to the side and put his foot up, causing Wrecking Crew to trip before landing indignantly on the ground. Wrecking Crew growled as he got up.

"You're starting to make me very angry!" He roared. His helmet began to glow again, and Danny put up a hand to try and block it. But something amazing happened. A green burst of energy flew out of Danny's hand, right as Wrecking Crew's laser began to fire. There then came a struggle between the two beams. It was not a matter of who would run out of ammo, but who would tire first. Danny wasn't sure how he was doing it, but he kept pushing the energy. Wrecking Crew was caught off guard by this, and his reward for this was losing the beam struggle. There was a powerful explosion, and Wrecking Crew's helmet flew from his head, as he yelped in pain.

"Who...who are you?!"" Demanded the villain,

"I'm just a guy who hates bullying and loves this city!" Danny charged forward, sending a punch towards the enemy. Wrecking Crew flinched harder than he expected at the blow, but recovered quickly. He grabbed Danny by the arm and slammed him on the ground. Then he raised up a powerful boot and slammed it back down. The resulting shockwave sent Danny airborne, and then Wrecking Crew slammed his gauntlets together, sending Danny flying towards what Wrecking Crew was trying to establish as City Hall.

He crashed into a wall, hearing shocked gasps as he stood. He looked. There were six young women in the room, one of which was Mona.

"Danny!" She cried, "I knew you'd come to save us." Danny could hear Wrecking Crew charging.

"'Scuse me," said Danny, running back to the fight, grabbing a large piece of rubble on the way. Wrecking Crew raised his hands again, but this time Danny was ready. He threw the rubble, and it smashed into the left gauntlet. There was a cracking sound, before the powerful armor exploded in Wrecking Crew's face. The right gauntlet powered down anticlimactically like a deflating balloon.

"That does it!" Roared the big man, "do you have any idea how expensive this armor was?!"

"Not enough to cover your bail, I'd imagine." Danny taunted back. Wrecking Crew clicked his heels together and the boots spewed fire from the soles. He launched upward, and Danny raised his hands to block the inevitable strike. Once again, the green energy flew from his palm and struck Wrecking Crew's boot. He spiraled to the ground, landing a few feet in front of Danny, sending dust into the air on impact. He stood, enraged, so angry that any madder and steam would spew from his nostrils.

The man made one last charge at Danny, ready to wring his neck, but the hero wound up a punch and launched it. BLAM! Direct hit! Wrecking Crew was sent screaming into the sky. Mona and the other women watched in amazement as Wrecking Crew flew higher and higher, becoming a speck on the sky. But, as the saying goes, what goes up must come down. And so he did, landing so hard he cracked the concrete on the landing. He tried to push himself up, his arms shaking. Eventually, his energy gave out, and he fell in an indignant heap on the ground.

"Now's our chance!" Cried Mona, "go go go!" The women began to run, finally tasting their freedom. Mona began to run towards Danny, but felt something wrap around her stomach and yank back, causing her to fall onto her butt.

Oh yeah, she remembered, Ivory.

"Do not think you've won!" hissed the enraged voice of Ivory, before two fingers with vice like grip pinched Mona's ear, "Wrecking Crew may be down, but now I assume command!" Ivory hauled Mona to her feet and began to drag her away by the ear.

"DANNY!" screamed Mona. Danny looked up and began to give chase. Mona managed to look, to see she was being dragged towards a helicopter.

"We'll just restart in another city!" Yelled Ivory over the helicopter blades, "And you shall be the first of my slaves." Mona did everything she could to get away from Ivory, but nothing seemed to make her flinch. To Mona's surprise, there were men waiting in the helicopter. Ivory let go of Mona's ear, only to pick her up by the stomach and practically throw her into the helicopter. It was a massive one, big enough for three pickup trucks to drive in end to end. Mona's worry grew with each passing second.

Soon, Ivory barked to the pilot to start flying. With a jerk, the helicopter lifted into the air, gaining height faster than the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. At first, Mona thought all hope was gone. But then one of the guards let out a startled shriek. She looked up, just in time to see him be thrown out of the helicopter. Then Danny's head popped up as he scrambled into the helicopter. The men all charged, only for each of them to be knocked down, or out of the helicopter in one blow per head. With no more henchmen left, Danny pointed a deathly finger at Ivory.

"You even leave a bruise on her," he threatened, "And I'll rip your hair out!" Ivory shoved Mona to the side and cracked her whip at Danny. Mona would forever remember the priceless look of horror on her face when Danny caught the whip. "One strand at a time!" Danny yelled before yanking the whip towards him, causing the panicking Ivory to lift off the ground and fly towards him. Danny raised a hand and slapped Ivory's cheek, causing her to fly to the side and slam into the pilot, knocking him out. But this caused the helicopter to jerk to the side. To Mona's horror, she was thrown from the vehicle and soon found herself falling to the ground below. She looked up at the helicopter, just in time to see Danny jump out of it and fall towards her. He put his arms and legs out like Superman, quickly closing the gap between them.

"It's okay, Mona." Said Danny, "I've got you."

"But who's got you?" asked Mona, squeezing her eyes shut and waiting for the impact. But it never came. Mona opened her eyes, to see Danny floating above Diamond City. "Danny!" She cried, "You...you can fly!" Danny looked at the ground, then back up at the helicopter, just as a voice cried out over a loudspeaker,

"You win this round, Superhero!" called Ivory's livid voice. "You've ruined everything, but we will be back stronger than-" Suddenly, Danny's eyes began to glow. Before anyone had time to question it, two powerful beams shot from them with blinding speed, striking the tail rotor. The helicopter began to spiral out of control, before landing in the abandoned warehouse section of Diamond City. Surprisingly, there was no explosion. Mona looked at Danny again,

"Working out my ass." She said.

"Well I didn't think you'd believe me if I told you the truth." Replied Danny. His face began to turn a bit green.

"You okay?" she asked,

"Yeah," said Danny. "I just don't like heights."

…

It took some doing, but Danny successfully flew back to Diamond City high with Mona in his arms. Who should be waiting out front but the Monettes. They were a squad of nine blond cheerleaders, who all looked more or less identical, save for some minor visual differences. Danny knew could figure out how Mona could tell them all apart.

"He did it!" cried one of them, "Who do we love?!" The Monettes formed a cheerleading tower.

"Danny!" They all cried in unison. On the landing, however, Danny felt himself losing his balance. While still holding Mona, he tried to correct it, only for her to land on top of him. They were so close they could feel each other's breath on their faces.

"You okay?" Asked Danny.

"I'll live." Replied Mona. Both stood, just in time to hear a police siren. They looked, seeing a tall man in a police uniform walking towards them. He had black hair and a black stubble, his eyes hidden behind the standard eighties cop sunglasses.

"There you are!" He barked towards Mona, "I've been looking all over for you!"

"Dad!" Cried Mona, annoyed, "Do you have any idea what happened to me today?! If it wasn't for Danny, I'd-"

"Save it!" Cried her father, "Get your ass in that car this instant, or you're on probation!" Mona sighed an irritated sigh, took one more look at Danny, and then walked to the car.

"I'll take it from here." Said the cop, looking at Danny in a not so friendly way, "Superhero." His tone dropped to even more unfriendly levels at the word Superhero.

"Sure thing, Sheriff Foster." Said Danny. Sheriff Foster said nothing in return, returning to his car and getting in the driver's seat. He drove off, Mona not taking her eyes off the hero until they were out of sight. Suddenly, Danny's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of more footsteps. He turned, just in time to see a young lady with brown hair, a purple dress shirt and black skirt take position in front of him, as a cameraman began filming.

"Hello Diamond City," said the woman, "You can take a deep breath now. I'm standing with the man who single-handedly saved Diamond City from a terrorist group." She turned to face Danny,

"What is your name, sir? Is it Captain Diamond?" Danny was confused for a bit, before saying,

"Don't call me Captain Diamond. Just call me Danny." Our hero was tired from today's events, and not in the mood for an impromptu interview, so he took to the sky and flew home. His thoughts were fixed on Mona for the whole flight.


	4. Demons Of The Past

Chapter Three.

Demons Of The Past.

It wasn't until Danny made it home and washed his face in the mirror that he saw his outfit; it was borderline ruined. HIs shirt and pants were riddled with bullet holes, noticeable burn marks, deep cuts like someone had taken knives to them (which a few of the henchmen had) and just major abuse. Yet, Danny's skin under them was unscathed. It really helped to hit home for him that the powers he had were in fact real, and that he had in fact gone toe to toe with an entire terrorist organization and come out on top.

Not to mention he'd done it entirely alone. Danny changed into his pajamas, amazed he didn't rip them while putting them on, and threw his destroyed clothes in the trash can. He'd have to wake up extra early tomorrow to take them out with the trash, or his mother would have his head. Danny climbed into bed, threw the covers over himself, and nodded off.

As usual, he woke up at five, this time without the aid of an alarm; he'd still have to get a new night stand and alarm clock, and why his mother hadn't come to rip him apart for the destruction of his old ones was beyond him. Danny showered, got dressed, and ate breakfast. As he left the house, he was expecting just the usual jaunt to school. He was proven wrong within five minutes.

"Hey!" Cried a voice. Danny looked, wondering what he'd done wrong. His answer came when a man he didn't even know clapped Danny on the shoulder like he was a longtime friend. "You know who's awesome?" he asked. Before Danny had time to ask, the man answered his own question. " _You're_ awesome. Keep it up dude!" The man then walked off to parts unknown, thus ending the encounter as abruptly as it had started. Danny thought it was odd, but kept along his way, but soon he was stopped again, this time by a slightly older looking woman.

"I don't have to worry when my children want to play in the street anymore. Thanks, Superhero." Danny took mental note that this had been the second time he'd been called a superhero. But unlike Sheriff Foster, this woman sounded like she meant it in a positive, sincere way. Before he had time to wonder where all this praise was coming from, his answer came as he passed the electronics store. The TVs in the window showed something; his battle with the terrorists. It almost looked like a cheesy action movie, and yet the events were true. The headline under the footage read,

"Superhero saves Diamond City, Terrorist band broken up." The footage ended with Wrecking Crew, who looked smaller without his armor, and Ivory in handcuffs being escorted by police. Danny broke his gaze on the screens and resumed his walk. Suddenly he heard another voice.

"There he is!" He looked up, just in time to see a group of people standing outside of an apartment building, probably the tenants, all working together to lift a sign above their heads. The sign read, "Thank you, Superhero." It was certainly nice to know that his deed was appreciated. Before long, Danny was on the school grounds. Next thing he knew, someone was shoving a newspaper in his face.

"Great work!" Came Mona's voice. Danny took the newspaper, The Daily Diamond, and looked it over. The headline read "Diamond City gets new Superhero."

"Why does everybody think I'm a superhero?" Danny asked to no one in particular.

"Earth to Danny!" Said Mona, knocking on his forehead, "Anyone home? Danny, you saved Diamond City from hostile takeover; why do you _think_ everyone thinks you're a superhero?!"

"Well, I couldn't exactly let them do any of that. Least of all hurt you."

"Spoken like a true Superhero." The last part then dawned on Mona, causing her to blush, "Well, I'm glad you think of me like that."

"To be honest," said Danny, "I'm surprised to see you here; I thought your dad was gonna ground you into next week."

"Nah," said Mona, "he just likes to bitch." Mona averted Danny's gaze at the mention of Sheriff Foster, indicating there was more to her relationship with her father than she was letting on, but Danny didn't feel that it was his place to ask. Then Mona snapped her fingers like she just remembered something. "By the way, I put in a good word for you at Warioware." She took something from seemingly nowhere and placed it in Danny's hand; it was an envelope from Warioware, embossed with a seal with the affirmed company's logo. "Welcome aboard, Superhero."

…

"Aw cripes, why are we doing this again?"

"You know why. Japan chose our Museum to feature this thing. From what I hear, just digging it up scared the wits out of the whole crew. The Japanese government is spooked too. Dude, they practically _gave_ this thing to us."

"I know that. But why didn't it get flown all the way to the states? Why do we gotta drive it through Mexico?"

"The plane was _supposed_ to go to the states, but the pilot had to make an emergency landing when the engines cut out. It's amazing no one was hurt, but all the cargo was destroyed, save for what we're hauling. But when they checked the engines, there was nothing wrong with them. Either it's pure dumb luck, or there's something about this thing. I don't like it man, I think it just _radiates_ evil."

"Sure, in the same way our boss just radiates sunshine. I hate the guy."

"Yeah but look at the bonus he's giving us. Just to drive some odd artifact across a country and a half."

"Yeah, the money's the _only_ reason why I gave up the weekend for this lousy job."

"Well we better get going; my wife's gonna kill me if I miss my daughter's birthday party again." The two men fell into a silence as the driver started the large truck and began the long trek. It was all he could do not to go into a profanity filled rant. He normally would never give up his weekend to drive across a country whose language he only had the most basic grasp of, with an artifact he'd barely even got a look at, so he wasn't even sure what it was. Whatever it was, Japan was glad to be rid of it and his boss was paying handsomely for its safe delivery. He'd already mentally spent his money on martinis and pretty women massaging his shoulders. He could just taste the ice cold drink and feel their soft hands on his bare skin, he was salivating just at the thought.

But his thoughts were interrupted when he was forced to slam on the brakes. There were three pickup trucks standing end to end on the road in front of him. Annoyed, the driver honked the horn.

"Move it!" He cried, "I got places to be and you're sitting in the way of progress!" Suddenly, a band of masked men slipped out of the trucks, guns drawn. Both driver and passenger held their hands up. One of them, assumingly the leader of the operation, gestured the men out of the truck.

"Surrender the contents of the truck," He barked in a thick, barely understandable accent, "and we will let you live."

"Come on, man!" The driver snapped, "Just let us-" The man holding the gun pulled the trigger, and the driver fell, dead before he hit the ground. The gunman then pointed his weapon at the passenger.

"You gonna say no too, hombre?"

"Let me get my bolt cutters." Said the passenger, hoping going back into the truck wouldn't be taken as a sign of trying to bail. The leader said something in Spanish, and the men lowered their guns.

"Do it!" He said. The man dove back in, grabbed his bolt cutters, and stepped back out. "No sudden moves!" Ordered the leader, as he walked with the man to the back of the truck, his gun pressed into the man's back, to make sure he would comply. The man walked back to the back, and cut the lock. Then he slid the door open. Inside was a single tall beige crate. The leader called to his men, and spoke to them in Spanish. The men scrambled into the truck and got the box out.

"Alright," said the leader, "you can go. Get back in the truck and don't you dare look back!" The man nodded, as he practically sprinted to the cab and jumped in like an Olympic high jumper. Three men moved the pickups, and the driver floored it away like a bat out of hell.

"Let's see what our little ambush has won us." Said the leader, as one of his crew drew a crowbar and pried the crate open, while everyone took off their masks. Inside was what looked like a sword in a rock. The handle was dark purple, embellished with what looked like a demon head, while the blade was black.

"Woah!" Cried one of them in Spanish, "look at that! I bet that'd fetch us a pretty penny on the black market."

"Screw that!" Cried the leader, "this is my new toy." He walked forward, grabbed the hilt, and took it out. To his surprise, he didn't have to yank it, or call his men for help, it just slid right out with barely any effort. He swung it a few times, the air hissed as it cut through, "Those pendejos in the Chupacabra gang had better watch their asses, or I'll run this through their fat heads." The gang members all gave approving sounds. Suddenly, the man's hand felt like it was on fire, and he let out a surprised yelp. He tried to drop the sword, but it was like the handle was coated in glue, his fingers and palm unable to move from it. Then came a feeling of being drained, causing the boss to scream in horror and pain.

"Boss!" Cried one of the men,

"What's happening?" Cried another. Then suddenly, the tip of the blade began to glow a dark purple. Five beams shot from it, each striking one of the gang members in the chest. All let out cries of pain and anguish, their hair turning white, their skin decaying, and their teeth falling out of their heads. The men slowly and painfully withered away, until there was nothing left of them but dusty bones and the clothes on their backs. The sword clattered to the ground, then something rose from it, looking like purple smoke.

"FINALLY!" Roared the purple cloud, "One thousand years wasted." He looked at himself, being merely a shred of the monster he used to be. "Look at me now; I could barely destroy a flower, let alone an entire ninja clan. It is fortunate that I killed and consumed my brothers in the sword. If I had been merciful, that Ninja's prophecy would have come true." The wisp looked around, "I must find a host body, otherwise my revenge will never come true." His mind scanned the area, hoping to find the most evil being. Then something came back. "Perfect!" said the wisp, smiling, showing its dulled fangs.

…

He sat in pitch darkness, his back to the wall. The only sound was his breathing. His skin was covered in scars. Bullet wounds, stab wounds, burns, you name it. The amount of dead bodies in his wake was uncountable. Men, women, children, he didn't care a bit for any of their blood on his hands. He just never fit in anywhere, so why should he care about a few dead bodies? And now here he was, rotting away in this box. It wasn't that he hadn't tried to escape, oh he had, several times, but this prison was a lot smarter and much tighter in its rules than the others.

 _Still, just one more killing spree,_ thought the monster of a man, _then some pendejo with a gun can put a bullet in my brain. Who knows? I might even just let him do it._ He then heard the sound of a click, as a small hatch on the bottom of the door let in just enough light to blind him, as the sound of a plastic bowl sliding across the floor played out.

"Here you are, Butch." Said the voice of the guard who loved his job just a bit too much.

"What's in it?" Butch asked, not really caring at this point, but he was curious.

"Toenails, bugs, and a little something extra from yours truly. Eat up, baby killer." The guard laughed as he shut the hatch, plunging the room back to darkness. Butch wasn't overly hungry, and he wasn't about to give that moron the satisfaction, so he simply kicked the bowl over, spewing the contents onto the floor. Suddenly, there was a bright light, this time from inside the solitary confinement unit. Butch covered his eyes until they recovered from the shock. When he looked again, there was what looked like a ghost in his cell.

"Greetings." Said the ghost.

"Oh great," said Butch, "I've been in here so long I'm starting to hallucinate."

"I am no illusion." Said the Ghost, "I know you are a man of great evil stuck in an undignified box. I can help you, give you tremendous powers to destroy anyone you wish with barely a flick of your wrist." Butch thought it was a bunch of hooey, but he figured he didn't have much to lose. Worst case scenario, if he _was_ dreaming, he could have a few minutes of mindless fun.

"Okay," said Butch, "I'll bite."

"Excellent!" Exclaimed the monster, "this will only hurt for a moment." Without another word the monster flew into Butch, and then came a great feeling of pain. It was probably a good thing the unit was soundproof, so no one could hear his screams of anguish. But as fast as it had started, it stopped. Butch felt something...he felt stronger. Out of curiosity, he stood and gave a kick to the door holding him in. With a powerful crack, the door flew out of the wall before slamming into the other wall and coming down. This, however, caused a shrieking alarm to go off. Butch stepped out of his cell. He saw the sunlight in the window for the first time in...He didn't actually know. Guards came barreling up the stairs, guns drawn.

"Come at me, babosas!" Cried Butch, slowly and casually walking towards them. The guns went off. To everyone's surprise, even Butch's, the bullets ripped his orange jumpsuit but bounced off of him once they touched his skin. He could barely even feel the bullets. He grinned, and cracked his knuckles. He saw one of the guards pulling out a grenade, and Butch put out his hand to catch it. Only for a powerful red beam of energy to fly out of his palm. This beam struck the grenade and caused it to explode, killing all the guards near it.

"This keeps getting better and better!" Cried Butch as he continued to walk. When he reached the stairs, he heard someone yell,

"BLOW IT!" And with an explosion, the stairs withered under his feet. Butch began to fall, but stopped, as though he landed on something invisible. He could see the panicking guards below his feet and smirked a wicked smirk. Rather than crash land on the guards, or shoot a blast at them, he looked up and flew through the ceiling. This left the guards confused and terrified.

With the whole prison below his feet, Butch began to charge up the biggest blast of this energy he could muster. Then putting his hands out like he was trying to catch an invisible basketball being thrown at him, he shot it. The beam was as wide as a fiat, and came crashing onto the prison faster than a jet. The force of the impact caused the entire prison to explode.

The explosion was so powerful it even knocked Butch a bit further up, but he was able to catch himself. He looked down at the ruins of the prison, with a wicked smirk, before something moving down there caught his eye. He flew down quickly, landing so hard next to the moving object it actually knocked them down. The man was wearing a red dress shirt, black slacks, and black loafers. He looked at Butch in terror, and it dawned on the monster who this was.

"For such a jackass guard," he said, "you got some nice duds." Butch Reached down and grabbed the man's neck. "Very nice." he said a minute later, buttoning up the last button of the shirt, leaving the body of a naked man dead behind him. Then Butch took to the sky. His destination? He didn't have one.

 _Maybe find a nice, quiet metropolis,_ Thought Butch, _and turn it into a parking lot._ Butch smirked as he flew, but he wasn't the only one smirking.


	5. First Day On Both Jobs, Part 1

And now, it's time for Danny to meet the WarioWare cast members. I should say, however, that the latest game I've played in this series is Smooth Moves. So if there's a character that appears in later games, you won't find them here, with the exception of 5-Volt. However, I'm excluding Penny, and you'll find out why later.

Chapter Four.

First day on both jobs, part one.

Danny walked through the doors of WarioWare Inc., straightening his necktie. Mona hadn't given him a rundown of the dress code, so he figured he'd do business casual; a blue dress shirt with black tie, black slacks and belt, and black dress shoes. It was funny, he figured he'd be struggling to find work, but he hadn't tried. He figured it would be pointless to get a job if he didn't have a way to get there, so he'd wait until he had his driver's license. But now that he could fly, he saw little point in getting it. And now, this job had just fallen into his lap.

The foyer of the building was rather large, with tiled floors and a relatively high ceiling. There were four halls, two against the back wall, and one on either side of him, across from each other with the front door in between. Mona had said to meet her in the developer's room, but she'd never specified where that was.

"Aw man!" Cried a voice, sounding like that of a child, "It got stuck!" He looked in the direction, to see two young girls, one standing on the other's shoulders, standing in front of a vending machine. The one on the bottom wore a blue shirt, purple shorts, purple socks, with blue shoes, purple fingerless gloves, and a purple bandana around her neck. Her hair was pink and a good-sized lock of it stood straight up.

The girl on her shoulders had the exact same outfit, but with inverted colors, and her own hair was orange, with two smaller locks of it standing up on either side, near her temples, almost looking like horns. Both girls were fairly chubby, their pudgy stomachs contained, but not hidden, in their shirts. And both had swords on their backs, but Danny wasn't sure if they were just toys or were real weapons.

"I told you that was gonna happen, Ana." Said the one on the bottom.

"I know," whined the one on top, assumingly Ana, "but I really wanted that chocolate milk today, Kat."

"Sorry," said Kat, "you can ask Sensei for some when we get home."

"Awww." Whined Ana. Then she jumped off of Kat's shoulders. Both were the exact same height without the hair, but Kat's pointed strand of hair gave her the advantage. The two began to walk off. Danny walked to the vending machine. The chocolate milk was indeed stuck, but he figured a good shake would knock it loose. He placed his hands on either side of the machine and gave it a hearty shake to the left, followed by a shimmy to the right.

Success, Ana's desired Chocolate milk came free, falling to the bottom. Danny reset the machine to its regular position, reached his hand in, and grabbed the child friendly beverage. He looked to see Kat and Ana were still walking down the hall. Danny started to walk after them, but figured it'd be quicker to hover. So, he lifted himself just a few inches into the air, and hovered towards the girls. When he got close, he called out.

"Excuse me." he said to the orange haired one. She turned around, just in time to see Danny hold the drink out to her.

"Yay!" She cried, taking the drink, "Thank you! You're so nice!" Ana looked at him, but her gaze was averted to his feet. "Woah!" She cried, going prone and rubbing the ground under Danny's feet, checking for something holding him up. "Kat, are you seeing this? How are you doing that?"

"It's just a power that I have." Said Danny. Kat gave him a look.

"I know you," she said, in a tone the floating teen wasn't sure was good, "you're that superhero."

"That's me, I guess." He replied.

"Don't act all high and mighty just because you have superpowers!" Asserted the girl, "You may be powerful, but Ana and I could beat you easily, so don't do bad things, or we'll get you!"

"I...wasn't planning to." Said Danny, rubbing the back of his head. He looked down; Ana was still gawking at him.

"Good!" Said Kat, almost condescendingly, "keep it that way." Ana seemed to snap out of her trance.

"Be nice, Kat." She said, "He hasn't done anything bad!"

"Not _yet_ he hasn't." Kat grabbed Ana's hand and the two began to take their leave.

"By the way," said Danny, "I'm looking for the development room. Could you tell me where that is?"

"Nah," said Kat without turning around or stopping, "let's see if direction is one of your superpowers." The last Danny heard from the two was Ana saying,

"Kat! That was so mean! I'm telling Sensei when we get home!"

"Whatever." Danny said when they were out of earshot, with a shake of his head. He turned around, only to realize he'd bumped into somebody. They were wearing a blue boiler suit, and a green hat with a D on it, holes in the top for his dog ears to protrude through, and was about as tall as Danny. He appeared to be a dog of some sort, with fangs protruding from above the lower lip, the one on the left much bigger than the right.

"Whoops." Said Danny, offering his hand, "sorry about that."

"Stuff happens," said the dog in a passive voice, covered by a Brooklyn accent, grabbing Danny's hand, and the young teen pulled him to his feet. "I saw yer exchange with Kat and Ana. Don't worry 'bout Kat. She just has a hard time warmin' up to strangers, especially the super powered kind."

"Not that she knows many super powered beings, you understand." Came another voice. Danny looked around, then his peripheral vision caught something. A small yellow cat, about up to the Dog's knee. He wore a similar blue jumpsuit and had green goggles on his head, a red nose, and a white snout. "But think of it this way. You can fly, shoot lasers out of your eyes and hands, and lift a car over your head as easily as she could break a toothpick. Though you've shown yourself to be a hero, you could also be a threat if you decided to turn bad; the idea of someone hurting her sister, especially someone who'd be difficult to take down on a good day, doesn't sit well with Kat." Danny nodded in understanding.

"But again, don't worry." Said the dog, clapping Danny on the shoulder, "Just be a good guy like you are, and she'll come around eventually."

"Thanks," said Danny, "what are your names by the way?"

"I'm Dribble," said the Dog, then he gestured to the cat, "And this is my buddy Spitz. Alongside this gig, we also run a taxi service here around Diamond City."

"We've been workin' on a motto," Spitz chimed in, "Something like 'We get you where you're going in thirty minutes or less, or you don't pay.' What do ya think?"

"Kind of a strict deadline, don't you think?" Danny offered, "And in heavy traffic, I'd imagine you kiss the fare goodbye. Also, it's a bit choppy. I'd say something like 'a fair fare from here to there.' That's just me though."

"Nah," said Dribble, "we have ways of getting people where they gotta go fast."

"Well it's your cab," said Danny, "do what you want. By the way, can you tell me where the development room is? Mona's waiting for me."

"I thought she might have something to do with you getting hired." Mused Spitz, before Dribble answered his initial question.

"Just go up the elevator behind me, go to the tenth floor, turn left and it's on the right."

"Thanks." Said Danny, before leaving the conversation. He began to head in the direction Dribble had mentioned, but on the way, he saw a man walking towards him. He wore a red jacket with no shirt under it, white pants with a white belt and wide cuffs at the bottom, and black pointed shoes. But these were not his most striking feature. He had a long moustache, rounded at the ends, he wore glasses, a large red nose, and had a large blue afro on his head.

"Yo," he greeted Danny, "Name's Jimmy T. You must be new here."

"Yeah," said Danny, "just started today."

"Groovy." Said Jimmy, "Welcome aboard. If you ever wanna get your groove on, ya just come find me. Oh, and I should mention…" Jimmy leaned in a bit closer, "there's someone who looks just like me, just with different colors, and more tanned. He ain't me, don't let Mr. Wario tell ya any different." Then, without another word, Jimmy began to wander off to parts unknown. Danny finally made his way to the elevator and pressed the call button. He could hear the elevator coming down to him, and when the doors opened, he realized why Jimmy had given his warning. There in the elevator stood a man who was the spitting image of Jimmy, with a few notable exceptions. A yellow afro instead of a blue one, more tanned skin, blue jacket instead of red, and a pinker nose. Other than that, they were basically identical.

"Hey," said the man, his voice just a touch deeper than Jimmy's. "Watch out for my lookalike, he's not me despite what the bossman says."

"I ran into him just a bit ago." Said Danny.

"Oh good," he said, "so you already know. Name's Jimmy P by the way."

"Wow, same name too. I can see the confusion."

"Yep." Said Jimmy P with a nod. "Well I'm clocked out so I'll catch ya on the flipside, Mr. Superhero." Before Danny could say what his name really was, Jimmy P walked by him and was gone. Danny shrugged, got on the elevator, and pressed the button for floor ten. As the doors parted, he saw someone sitting at a table, eating a sandwich. He thought he saw a purple tentacle stick out for a moment before it was eaten, but couldn't be sure. He walked over to the person. She was wearing what looked like a red dress with an orange ascot on her neck, the hem of the dress the same color, with red shoes. There seemed to be an orange skull on the ascot, and her hair was black and long, with a large spikey orange headband, almost looking like a pseudo crown, and done in large pigtails. Her most striking feature, however, were her red eyes.

"Hey," Danny greeted her. The person didn't look up at him, and kept eating her sandwich.

"Hey, mortal." She said between bites. Danny could have sworn he'd heard that monotone, apathetic voice before, but wasn't sure.

"I guess you work here." Danny went on.

"Really? What gives you that idea?" The sarcasm was very palpable in her voice.

"What's your name, then?"

"Ashley. You're gonna bow down to me at some point, so enjoy your freedom while you have it."

"Huh… Okay then." Danny walked off. Now it was Ashley's turn to think she'd met him before, and just as she realized it, they were in each other's faces.

"YOU!" They both said in unison.

"You're the witch who kidnapped me and...and...gave me superpowers!"

"You're the lamebrain who was supposed to be my ingredient!"

"Better to be a superhero than an ingredient!"

"You sure about that?" asked Ashley, dropping her sandwich and standing up. But before they could take to fighting, a voice came from down the hall.

"Stop it, stop it!" said the voice, sounding like a mother scolding her feuding children. Then she came into view. She was a head shorter than Danny, wearing a red jacket under a yellow apron. Her feet bore red shoes, her hair brown with large bangs, yellow hairbands on strands adjacent to her eyes. Her eyes were brown, and she gave the appearance of a mother for some reason. And just as she finished saying her words, Danny felt oddly docile, his will to fight with Ashley gone.

"There." Said the woman, "that's better." She directed her attention to Danny, "Hey, I know you. You're the local superhero!"

"Yep," said Danny, though still wasn't used to being addressed as a superhero, "that's me."

"My son was just dazzled by your performance taking out those terrorists. He said it was like a living video game, and he loves his video games. Just like his mother, that boy. And now you work here. Oh, he's gonna flip out. He'll be the boy in the massive gaudy helmet. Now, if you'll excuse me, I should find said son and make sure he's doing his job around here, or his homework." She started to walk away, but then stopped, "And by the way, my name is 5-Volt." Then for real, the woman walked off to parts unknown. Danny had forgotten where the development room was, but had a sneaking suspicion Ashley wasn't going to be any help. So, he simply started walking in the direction 5-Volt had gone.

Not even twenty steps later, a figure began to approach Danny, he was tall, about as tall as he was, wearing a blue karate Gi and sporting a mop of black hair. He seemed to be doing back handsprings down the hall, before flipping, spinning, and landing in the superhero pose in front of Danny. He stood, just as a much older, much shorter man, in a purple robe and a foundation of short grey hair, before coming up in a grey braid, and what looked like grey headphones of hair on his ears walked up next to him.

"Master," The one in blue spoke, "is this that Superhero everyone's talking about?" The shorter, older man said nothing, simply nodding. "I heard he shrugged off bullets and took down that Wrecking Crew guy easily. He'd make a worthy adversary." Danny got a bit uneasy. Was this guy soliciting a fight? Danny was sure he'd win, but he didn't want to get fired over starting a fight with one of his coworkers...at least on the first day. But the short master shook his head. "You're right." Said the one in blue, "I cannot fight an ally." The man stood and came closer to Danny, "My name is Young Cricket, and this is my master, Master Mantis." Cricket took a step back, doing a few karate moves, some punches and kicks. One of the punches accidentally connected with Danny's chest. Cricket jerked back a bit, rubbing his knuckle. "Well, in any case, it would be an honor to fight alongside you."

"Perhaps later." Said Danny. "By chance, do you know where the development room is?"

"Certainly," said Cricket. "Just keep going down this hall, and it's about ten doors down on the right."

"Thanks." Said Danny. However, before he could get going, he heard something in a room a few doors up.

"Aw man!" The voice sounded like that of a kid. Then another voice.

"Now you've done it. How do you plan to get those out?" This one sounded deeper yet still had some sort of juvenility to it. Danny ventured into what seemed to be a break room, with some tables, counters and cabinets, and a vending machine as well, to see what the matter was. Inside were two people. One of them was on the ground, trying to look under the vending machine. He was about up to Danny's knee in stature, with a massive helmet with lights on the temples. He wore a red shirt, green pants, and red gloves and shoes. The other person was much taller, about Danny's height. He was a bulky fellow in a green jogging suit, with brown hair standing up like a tree on top of his head, shades with red and green lenses, and green and white shoes. His hands were massive, like two large slabs of meat hanging down from his arms.

"I can't just leave these here!" Said the kid in the helmet, "These are some of my favorites. And mom won't buy them again if I lose them."

"If only we had someone who could lift that machine." Said the other one.

"Maybe I can be of assistance." Danny spoke up. Both turned to look at him, and the smaller kid's eyes lit up at the sight of Danny.

"You're that superhero!" The kid squealed. "I loved how you took down those terrorists. It's like you live a video game!" The kid calmed down, then realized something. "Hey, do you think you could lift this vending machine for me?"

"I could take a stab, sure." Danny walked over towards it, and the two moved out of the way. Danny grabbed the sides of the vending machine and lifted it effortlessly.

"Yeah!" The kid cried, sliding under and grabbing his prized games, then getting clear for Danny to put the machine back down. "You really ARE a superhero!" Danny set the vending machine down when the kid was out from under it. "My name's 9-Volt." Said the kid, then gestured over to the larger fellow, "and this is 18-Volt."

"Word." Said the larger fellow. Danny nodded. 9-Volt sat down on one of the chairs at the table,

"Now, time to finish this darn level," he said, taking out a 2DS XL and turning it on. But before he could even get past the main menu, 5-Volt poked her head into the room.

"9-VOLT!" She snapped, "DO YOUR HOMEWORK!" 9-Volt began to grumble. Danny walked back out of the room and was just about to reach the development room, when suddenly, two figures walked out of it. Both were very short, the first having blue metal encasing the upper half of his head. There was a visor where his eyes would be, a red dot probably acting as the eye itself. He had a large red nose and what looked like two hairy boomerangs serving as a mustache. He wore a white onesie with a grey stripe going down the middle. His arms has the same blue metal and he wore blue boots. His companion was a robot. He had silver metal for skin, a large jaw, with red eyes and two microphones protruding from his head.

"Amazing!" shouted the man in yellow, "the Superhero?! In my presence?! This is a day to remember!"

"Ugh," said the robot, "chill toilet brain."

"Silence, Mike!" Said the man, then focused his attention on Danny, "Young man, I would love the opportunity to study you, and see if I may aid you or your powers."

"Um…" Said Danny, caught off guard, "perhaps later…?"

"Of course," said the man. "I am Doctor Crygor, and this is my Karaoke and cleaning robot, Mike."

"Hey, flying human." Said Mike, "good show saving the city and all, just try not to go crazy and do karaoke."

"Noted." Said Danny, though wasn't sure that was the best reply to the statement.

"If you'll excuse us, superhero." Said Dr. Crygor, "We should be getting back to the lab." The two walked by Danny and out of sight. Danny finally entered the development room, and realized that for the second time, he'd bumped into somebody. He looked to see an alien with a white body, black cape, and a bowling pin shaped head with massive black glasses, at least his upper half, sticking out of a pig themed UFo. It was ovular, with yellow eyes, snout, and moth of the pig, the rest of the pigs body, ears, and feet being pink. The impact had knocked the alien back a bit, swaying in his space.

"Sorry about that," said Danny.

"No harm done, as you humans say." Said the alien, steadying himself. "My name is Orbulon, and I find it fascinating how a human can learn to fly. Sadly I have no time to talk, I must get some mega burgers, hopefully they're not sold out this time." Then Orbulon floated away. Danny looked and finally saw her.

"You made it, Dan." Said Mona. Then she saw his attire, "Oh I totally spaced it. There's no real dress code, just wear clothes."

"Would've been nice to know that ahead of time." Said Danny, walking over to Mona and sitting in the chair next to her.

"My bad." Said Mona, then turned on the computer in front of Danny, "so let me walk you through how we make micro games here. Oh, but you need a theme. What theme do you want?" Danny thought for a minute, before blurting out,

"Superhero, I guess?"

"Good idea," said Mona, "now, here's how we do it." She guided him through a series of menus and interesting screens. She taught him that he'd either have to use premade assets, or make his own. Danny wasn't sure he could do that part well, since he wasn't a keen artist. After she'd set him up to make his first game, his nose caught a whiff of something awful. He looked up, and there he was. He was a shorter, fatter man, wearing a blue shirt under a ripped jean jacket, with pink pants and blue shoes, with yellow finger-less gloves on his grubby hands. He had a yellow, brown, and red helmet with a blue W on it with goggles, and a large pink nose with a wavy mustache. It was the man himself, Wario.

"Who's this bozo, Mona?" Asked the fat man assertively,

"This is your new employee," said Mona, "Diamond City's Superhero, Danny."

"Superhero?!" Asked Wario, before his eyes filled with dollar bill signs, "Perfect, that'll rake in the cash no problem!"

"Speaking of," said Danny, "how much does this job pay?"

"Pay?" asked Wario, before bursting out laughing. He was laughing so hard he fell to the floor, like Danny had just told him the funniest joke he'd ever heard, "Oh, that's rich." Said Wario between gasps, rancid garlic odor filling the air. Danny looked to Mona, who shook her head.

"Greaaat," said Danny.

Okay, so that wraps this chapter up. This chapter was gonna feature some other, more dramatic events, but it was getting pretty long so I had to split it to two parts. I hope to have part two out soon.


	6. First Day on Both Jobs, Part 2

Hey guys, sorry this chapter took so long. I had put this story on hold due to needing to finish another story. But now, that story is finished, so I can pick this one up again. I'll be introducing a new main character, I've had her in mind since the story began. Sadly I fell on the "Sassy Black Lady Cop" stereotype.

Chapter Five.

First Day on Both Jobs, Part Two.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Asked Danny to Mona.

"Tell you what?" Asked Mona, innocently.

"You know," said Danny, "that the Warioware thing doesn't pay?"

"Well, _excuse_ me for trying to help you improve your social circle. We Warioware workers do that for kicks in our spare time. But hey, if you think you're too cool for us, you can always go back to your _other_ job." Danny raised a brow,

" _What_ other job?" he asked her.

"You know." Said Mona, then raised her voice to a falsetto of a damsel in distress. "OH GOD! HELP ME! SAVE ME!" Her voice changed again, this time to a mock Superhero voice...she was surprisingly good at it. "Fear not, citizen, I shall protect you, for I am," She paused before finishing with "Danny!" before returning to her normal voice. "You know, if you're gonna be a superhero, you really should come up with a better name. I think Roxy gave you a good one, shoulda taken it."

"What? Captain Diamond?"

"Yep, the very same. Seriously, such a good name. Simple and to the point."

"I dunno, though. Not sure if I'm even cut out for this whole superhero thing…" Suddenly, a woman yelled out in front of them.

"MY PURSE!" And a hooded hooligan ran towards them. Danny instinctively raised an arm, clotheslining the punk and then catching the purse. The relieved woman ran up to him as Danny held it out to her. During this whole thing, Danny only broke eye contact with Mona to pose for a selfie with the woman.

"See what I mean?" asked Mona, after the woman walked away, "you were made for this kinda thing!" The two walked down the street. Danny had stolen the opportunity to return home and dress in regular clothes, and now the two were simply walking down the street, no real destination in mind. "And heck, you've already proved yourself, Dan. Or, did you forget about the whole Wrecking Crew thing?"

"That was just out of instinct…" Danny said, but he already knew the reply.

"My point exactly. Danny, you're a nice guy, but I have to wonder if your brain takes a leave of absence now and then. You were _born_ to protect Diamond City. Both Wrecking Crew, and that mugger we just passed, you didn't even have to think, you just did it."

"Well," said Danny, "superheroes are meant to be someone a city can look up to. You know, be a beacon of hope. And I just don't think I inspire hope." Suddenly, Mona sprang from her spot beside Danny to directly in front of him, forcing him to stop dead in his tracks.

"You don't think so, huh?" She asked, "Well, I know five people who can prove you wrong."

"Oh yeah?" Asked Danny, "try me."

"Follow me then, hot shot!"

…

"Sister Myrtle's Home for the Lost?" asked Danny, reading the sign and looking at the building he was presented with. The building was fairly old, with peeling paint and dirty windows, yet somehow looked reasonably inviting.

"Tell me hero," Said Mona, "when you flew through that wall, who else was in that room aside from me?"

"Five other girls. What, are they here?"

"Let me prove what hope you bring." Mona went and knocked on the door, and Danny was forced to follow her. Before too long, the door opened, showing an older woman. She was about Mona's height, with long grey hair running past her shoulders. She wore a white blouse with a long grey skirt, and black slippers. She looked through her wire-rimmed glasses at Mona.

"Ah, Miss Foster." Said the old lady.

"Mona, if you don't mind, Myrtle." Said Mona, and Danny could almost hear disgust in her voice, apparently she didn't like her last name.

"Well," continued Myrtle, "what brings you to this house of spiritual healing?"

"The Lost Girls," said Mona.

"The ones rescued from that Wrecking Crew fiend?" asked Myrtle.

"Yes, them." Mona gestured to Danny, "I wanted to show their savior how he inspires hope in this city." Myrtle then looked at Danny, her eyes widening.

"Ah!" She cried, "Yes, they've been whispering of their champion for days. I feel it would do them good. Come, please." She ushered the two inside. Inside, the walls had peeling yellow paint, but the furniture was very thoughtfully chosen, resting on the old but cozy green carpet. Candles and books adorned a nearby bookshelf, and a television showing a local cooking channel really gave the place a homey feel.

Combining this with the smell of food in the oven, Danny bet that this had to be at least a step in the spiritual healing process. Myrtle led them up the rickety and narrow stairway, before finally coming to a door at the end of a long and narrow hallway, with more yellow walls and green carpet.

"Girls." said Myrtle, knocking on the door. "You have visitors." One of the girls made a mumbling sound on the other end of the door.

"Believe it or not," Whispered Myrtle, "this is actually an improvement; she used to say nothing." Myrtle opened the door. The five young women were all beautiful. The first of them was tall and blonde, wearing a white shirt and grey sweats, with brown slippers. Her long blonde hair was in a ponytail, and her eyes were blue. The second was shorter and pudgier, with brown hair and green eyes. She wore a blue shirt and green sweats, with blue socks.

The third was just a hair taller than the second. She had black hair, stunning grey eyes, and was the skinniest of the bunch, but Danny couldn't tell if it was in a healthy way or not. She wore a pink shirt, white sweatpants, and brown slippers. The fourth was the shortest of the bunch, but skinny as well. She had fiery red hair, nearly as sleek as Mona's. She had blue eyes, and wore a white shirt, blue jeans, and red sneakers.

The final girl was about as tall as Mona. She had white hair, running past her shoulders, with a pink shirt, green sweats, and white socks. Her eyes were a stunning jade, and her face, like the other girls' faces, was tearstained.

"Girls." Said Myrtle, "this man is your savoir. The one who rescued you from Wrecking Crew, and has given you the chance to reconnect with your families. The process isn't moving as fast as I would like but I hope to have all of your families found by the end of the month." Myrtle moved her gaze to Danny, "Daniel, these are Monica, Mary, Monique, Madison, and Michelle." Her finger ran from right to left, as she named off the girls.

Suddenly, all five girls stood. They walked up to Danny, and one by one put their hands on him. Monica and Mary put a hand on each of his shoulders, Michelle his left arm, Monique his cheeks, and Madison between his shoulder blades. They spoke no words, just resting their hands on him. Danny said nothing, normally not liking being touched in the chest, or anywhere, but given he was invulnerable, he really couldn't feel it. He could see tears running down the girls' faces, and then, in perfect unison, they all thanked him at once. They stayed like this for a while, before finally letting go and returning to their spots. Their faces seemed much brighter now, having gotten to thank the man who saved them.

…

A few minutes later, Danny and Mona were walking away from the place. Danny wasn't sure what to say after that experience.

"What did I tell you?" Mona asked. Though she sounded very nonchalant, she had been a bit surprised at the gesture the five girls had made, simply expecting them to thank him, or maybe even hug him.

"I...don't know what to say about that…" Suddenly, a loud ringing sound played in Danny's ears. It was migraine inducing, causing Danny to stop and clutch his head.

"Danny!" Yelped Mona, springing over to support him. "What's wrong?!"

"My head is ringing!" Cried Danny. Then he saw it, visions on the backs of his eye lids. There he saw Sheriff Foster, and someone else, a black woman with curly hair, pinned behind their squad car, as a felon open fired on them with a machine gun. "It's...it's your dad. He's pinned down. I've...I've gotta help him." Mona had a million questions, but before she could ask a single one, Danny took to the sky and flew off.

"Hey!" Shouted Mona, "Dang it Danny! Next time, take me with you!" Though Danny couldn't explain this phenomenon, it was guiding him like a compass to the location of the danger.

…

'YOU'LL NEVAH' TAKE ME ALIVE, COPPA!" shouted the felon, spraying hot lead at the squad car. Sheriff Foster and Deputy Anderson squatted behind the car, guns drawn.

"What's your brilliant plan, _Mister_ Sheriff?" Asked the Deputy, a heavyset black woman.

"Shut up a minute!" Snapped Foster, "He has to reload eventually. When he does, we'll spring him!" Suddenly, the felon stopped firing, and started screaming. Then with the sound of a powerful punch, his screams became louder, and then something landed on the hood of the car. Foster and Anderson looked up, seeing the felon sprawled out on the hood.

"Please take me alive, coppa." said the felon, before passing out. He had long brown hair, down to his shoulders. Wearing a typical biker outfit, leather jacket, pants, and boots, the machine gun clattered to the ground, he was out like a light. Anderson cuffed the man and threw him into the back of the cruiser.

"You two okay?" Asked Danny.

"Don't get in my way, boy." Snarled Sheriff Foster, "I had him right where I wanted him, I don't need you-" Suddenly, a hand slapped over his mouth.

"What he _meant_ to say," said Anderson, "Was "Thanks for the assist, Mr. Superhero."" If sass was dirt, Anderson would have fifty acres, easily. She was about the same height as Foster, chocolate brown skin and pink palms. Her green eyes showed pride in her work, but also emotion for something else, but it wasn't Danny's place to ask. She had brown, curly hair, and carried herself in a way that suggested she was not to be messed with. Danny nodded.

"Glad I could be of service." Suddenly, the ringing in his ears started again.

…

As Butch flew, he soon stumbled upon his quiet metropolis, but suddenly, the voice in his head started talking again.

"Oh, I should mention, I have my own affairs, and I just found some of them, so excuse me while I take control." Suddenly, everything went black.

"Seriously, Kat, he did something nice and you were so mean to him!"

"Oh my Gosh! Ana, are you _still_ talking about that? I was trying to keep you safe. You're _welcome_." Suddenly, there was a loud thump behind them. They turned to see a man, hispanic, dressed in a red button down shirt, a black belt, black slacks, and black loafers. His hair was black as well, but his eyes were yellow, giving them a demonic look. He slowly backed the girls into an alley.

"You! You little brats!" He snarled at them, like they'd stolen money from him and were now waving it in his face. Ana cowered behind Kat, but Kat stood her ground.

"What do you want, Mr. Grumpy Pants? We didn't do anything to-" Suddenly, Kat received a hard strike to the face. Her eyes started to water from the pain, but she fought the tears; she wouldn't give this jerk the satisfaction of knowing he made her cry. Suddenly, the man was sent flying to the other end of the alley he'd cornered them in.

"Hey man," said a voice, "kids are no picnic." The speaker paused, looking at Kat, who rolled her eyes. "Certainly not this one, but you can't go smacking them around like that!" Danny stood in front of Kat and Ana, cracking his knuckles. "Am I gonna have to teach you some manners?"

"Thank you Mister-" Ana started to thank Danny, but Kat put her hand over her mouth.

"Leave, mortal!" Snarled the man, standing up, "you cannot stop me!"

"Says who?" Asked Danny, then turned to the girls. "Kids, get outta here, I'll deal with this bozo."

"We're not running!" Snapped Kat, drawing her sword. Ana managed to squelch her cowardice and do the same.

"You will not stop me from destroying the Iga Ninja Clan. They sealed me away one thousand years ago, and I will make them suffer for it!"

"This dude seems sloshed as all hell." Danny mused. Kat and Ana, meanwhile, froze.

"This guy sounds like he knows more than he should." Said Kat uneasily.

"M-Maybe we should tell Sensei." Said Ana.

"Good idea!" Kat concurred, then both darted away faster than Danny could blink his eyes. Danny refocused on the man, just in time to see him burst forward with blinding speed. Danny tried to block, but the man placed a powerful fist into his stomach, then kicked him, sending him flying. He flew out over the street, before his enemy flew past him and sent him flying again. Danny realized, to his horror, he was about to fly through someone's windshield. With a shatter of glass and two frightened screams, Danny saw two older women, hearing them scream.

"Step on the brakes!" Danny yelled. It was a bit before the driver did so. Danny turned, to see the man running towards him. "Ladies, I'm gonna need to borrow your car." The women quickly stepped out.

"The transmission sticks!" Warned the former driver.

"Not gonna be a problem!" Danny picked up the car and slammed it down onto the other man's head. Then pulled it back and hit him with it like a baseball bat. "Blue Punch Buggy!" Danny taunted. The man flew off to the side, and Danny flew after him. The people around him began to flee for their lives. Danny pulled back his fist and landed a punch on his enemy's cheek, and then another. But the third was blocked, as the big man snarled at him.

"Don't get in my way, boy!" he spat, grabbing Danny's arm and slamming him through a wall. Inside, there were people, screaming and fleeing, but the only door was now stuck. The man smirked.

"If you think you are a hero." He said, in a challenging tone, "save these people." The man extended his arm, a red burst of energy began to appear. Danny was shocked, and jumped in front, just in time to take the blast. Danny had to take a knee and gasp for air, while the people in the room finally managed to open the door and escape. Danny felt something as he glared at the enemy: Rage.

"You just tried to slaughter innocent lives!" Shouted Danny, standing up, his anger melting the pain. "I dunno what your beef is with the kids, but you have no reason to kill people you don't know!"

"Get used to it, paragon!" Sneered the man, "Their lives are like ants to me. Don't tell me you never swatted an annoying fly before."

"You can't compare human lives to insects!" Danny burst forward, planting his fist in the man's gut. The man doubled over, gasping for air, but Danny continued to attack. Blow after punishing blow, his rage only grew as he punched the demonic man. Finally Danny punched him so hard he flew into a wall, needing to catch his breath again. Danny sauntered toward him, only for something unusual to happen...well, about as unusual as the man was. His eyes turned from putrid yellow to normal brown human eyes. The now normal looking man looked at Danny with a scowl, then blasted him hard in the chest. Danny was knocked down, but when he stood, the man was gone.

Then, for the third time of the day, Danny's ears began to ring. This time, he saw something that horrified him: The Person he was meant to save...was Mona!

…

Mona ran down the street, pushing past the fleeing people, trying to find Danny. The citizens fleeing for their lives told Mona she was heading in the right direction. But suddenly, instead of her friend, she found her father.

"There you are!" He snapped. Before Mona could run by him, he grabbed her hard by the wrist.

"Let go of me, Dad!" Mona snapped. Sheriff Foster did not. Rather, he dragged Mona to a new police cruiser, opened the back door, and practically threw Mona inside, shutting the door.

"Wait here, little missy!" He snapped at her. Just then, a man in a red shirt, black pants and shoes, and with Hispanic skin flew into the scene, hovering at least seven feet off the ground. He put out his hand, aiming at Sheriff Foster. The man shot a powerful blast at him, but he lunged to the side, drawing his gun and firing two rounds at him. The bullets simply bounced off the man's forehead. He smirked at the man, then flew off to parts unknown. Sheriff Foster looked back at the car, then was shocked to see it on fire. Mona was slamming on the window, but she couldn't break it. The fire was inching closer and closer to her. Just then, another figure flew in. Sheriff Foster was enraged to see it was Danny.

Danny ripped the door off the cruiser, then quickly but gently pulled Mona out. Then he wrapped his arms around her and twisted around, so his back was to the car, rather than Mona's. Just then, the car exploded in a blaze. Danny's invincible body protected Mona from any fire or debris, so Mona's only affliction from the explosion was a ring in her ears. Mona tightened her grip on Danny.

"Thanks, Dan!" she said. Then, she let go, just as her father was walking towards them.

"Mona Foster, come here this instant!" He shouted.

"Screw you!" Shouted Mona, "I almost died because of you!" Mona then took off running. Foster pointed a deadly finger at Danny before running after. But just before Danny could do anything, he heard a new voice.

"Mr. O'Connor." Said an older, yet experienced voice. Danny turned, seeing a man. He was bald, save for a ropy black strand of hair on the very center of his scalp, and a black wrap of hair around the sides and back of his head. He had a moustache that looked like two strokes of black paint, in line with his upper lip, and a black goatee. He wore a green robe, over a darker green Japanese styled shirt, and even darker green pants. Poking their heads out from behind him were Kat and Ana. "May I have a moment of your time?"

…

Sheriff Foster ran around the side of a building he saw Mona run around, but by the time he reached it, there was no sign of his daughter. She was gone. Sheriff Foster gritted his teeth.

"I've got to find her! I need to protect her!"

"Protect her from what?!" Snapped a voice behind him. He turned to see his Deputy, hands on her hips. " _He_ saved her, you almost killed her."

"That man is a threat! He could snap her spine between two fingers!"

"But he didn't." Countered Anderson. "He pulled her out of a car, just in time to protect her when it exploded, and, word on the street is, he saved her from a terrorist who tried to add her to his harem. I'd say he's better at protecting her than you."

"That's enough, Anderson!" Foster snapped. "I will find her, no matter what I have to do!"

…

Danny sat at a small table, with Kat and Ana opposite each other, as Sensei poured some tea.

"Don't finish it if you don't want more." Whispered Kat, "Trust me, you won't." She turned, just in time to see Sensei set a tray down. He poured the tea into four cups, handing out one to each person at the table. Danny took a sip to be polite, but decided to take Kat's advice.

"Now, Mr. O'Connor," said Sensei, "Kat and Ana have brought me some very disturbing news. You see, one thousand years ago, the Iga Ninja Clan sealed away an ancient demon. We believe it was the Ancestor of Kat and Ana here who sealed the monster away. And if what they tell me is true, I'm afraid the demon has been released. I suspect he took a host body, but if this demon is indeed released, we are all in grave danger." He paused, and took a sip of his tea to calm his nerves. "Now, word is, you are very powerful, you could potentially help us. Mr. O'Connor, will you train with Kat and Ana, and help them prepare to protect themselves, and perhaps the world, from this demon?"

"Train?!" Asked Kat, "Sensei, with all due respect, Ana and I are more than capable of dealing with this."

"Kat," said Sensei, "you and your sister are children. Skilled and powerful as you may be, I do not believe your skills are enough for this demon. So, you will train with Mr. O'Connor to prepare, if the Demon truly is back, you will need it."

"With all due respect, sir-" Danny began to say.

"Please," Sensei cut him off, "call me Sensei."

"Right...Sensei...I don't like the idea of fighting kids…"

"I assure you, Mr. O'Connor." Said Sensei. "Kat and Ana are far more formidable than any child you've ever met. Will you help them train?" Both Kat and Ana looked at him. Ana nodded with vigor, while Kat shook her head no. Danny thought for a moment before saying.

"Sure, I guess I can help." Ana cheered happily, while Kat facepalmed.

... 

**"So, he's the new town sensation." A dark figure lurks behind an alleyway, devoid of any living soul that could hear his monotone delivery.**

 **Suddenly, an odd device vibrates within his ear, a frequency that only he can hear. He presses the button and begins to speak again.**

 **"...Yes?"**

 **"..."**

 **"I know... I haven't forgotten..."**

 **"..."**

 **"Don't worry... I'll keep an eye on him..."**

 **He hangs up, and walks off into the shadows.**

Sorry this chapter took so long, but I hope it was worth the wait. Sadly now, school is starting again soon (I'm on spring break as I type this) but once I get back, it's gonna kick into high gear. So maybe I will be able to finish the story during summer break. I hope so.

Edit: This last little blurb at the end was given to me by a friend. He had his ideas that I'm including in the story. What are those? Time will tell.


	7. Training with Kindergartners

Since starting the story, I have picked up WarioWare Gold. I actually really like the designs of the characters, so I've retroactively changed the designs of the characters that were featured in that game. Some of their designs were drastically different than the ones I was using (a lot were from the Gamecube version) while others were just changed to the new animation style with no other changes to their looks/outfits, and still others were somewhere in the middle. Other characters who did not appear in Gold, such as Sensei and The Monettes, will keep their Smooth Moves designs. For those wondering why Penny isn't featured in this story? In short, I'm changing up the canon a bit so she's not yet born.

Chapter Six.

Training with Kindergartners.

It hadn't been until Danny had agreed to train with Kat and Ana that he'd made a discovery; for the second time, his clothes were destroyed. Luckily, Sensei had spare outfits for days, and was willing to part with one. Now, Danny was clad in a green shirt and blue pants, with brown sandals. Being invincible, Danny wasn't sure how the clothes were supposed to feel, but as long as they did their job, he wasn't too concerned about that. What he could tell, though, was that the outfit was a bit more fragile than his previous outfit. He'd have to be careful; he'd hate to accidentally strip himself to his skivvies.

Danny refocused and walked out to the large gardens, where Sensei had instructed him to meet him, Kat, and Ana when he was finished changing. The gardens were lush, with the high walls of the dojo around them. The area was fairly large, about fifty feet in all directions, giving them plenty of room to move around. Danny still didn't like the idea of fighting these kids, he was afraid he'd accidentally break a bone, and the thought of seriously hurting an innocent child didn't sit well with him. But he'd already agreed to this, so he put on a brave face and walked to the center where Kat and Ana stood with Sensei. Ana's eyes flashed, and her lips formed a smile, a sign of excitement for the coming events. Kat meanwhile, rolled her eyes in exasperation, and gave Danny a "Took you long enough" glance.

"Are you quite ready, Mr. O'Connor?" Asked Sensei, "we have a lot of ground to cover, so I'd like to get in a good amount of time before…" Sensei didn't know how to finish that sentence, so he stopped himself short. "Anyway, is there anything else you wish to discuss before we get started?"

"I...I don't think so. How are we gonna do this?"

"Simple." Said Sensei. "You will fight with Kat and Ana. I understand your reluctance but I assure you, these two will be fine. In fact, I'm more worried about you." Before Danny had time to question that, he took a look; Kat and Ana were gone. Before Danny had time to wonder where they had gone, he felt a powerful gust of wind. Powerful enough to slide him back a few feet. He noticed Kat a few yards in front of him, holding her sword like she'd just split a log in half, smirking wickedly.

Danny was about to fly towards her, when he was struck from the side, causing him to spin wildly. He could see a flash of orange: Ana! He managed to slam his feet into the ground to stop himself, trying to regain his bearings. Then in a flash, both Kat and Ana flew at him, and with a powerful slam, Danny was sent flying backwards, slamming into a wall, a barrage of shurikens pinning his shirt there. Kat was smirking again, while Ana was grinning like she was at Disneyland. Sensei walked over to Danny.

"You just got beaten...by little girls." Danny realized the irony here.

"Well alright then." He said, pulling off the wall, ignoring the tears in his shirt. "Time to take off the kid gloves." He walked back over, cracking his knuckles. The girls were gone again, but this time, Danny was ready. He put up an arm, blocking a sword strike from Ana, then pushing her back. She rolled and stumbled back quite a bit, and for a moment he was afraid he'd hurt her. But then he saw her grinning ear to ear, a lack of blood or bruises. Again, Disneyland. Kat flew at Danny, but he managed to block her sword, and even yanked it from her hand, throwing it into the wall high above, it'd be a real pain for her to get it down.

"Hey!" Cried Kat, "not fair!"

"Very good, Mr. O'Connor!" Praised Sensei.

"What?!" Demanded Kat, "why are you praising him?!"

"Kat," said Sensei, "there is no such thing as a fair fight. Even if there was, the last person you would expect one from is the demon. You must now try to defeat Mr. O'Connor, without your sword." Kat looked back at Danny, only to see he wasn't there anymore. She looked around frantically. He was six feet tall, and wearing bright colors, with green eyes and blond hair. How the heck had he managed to evade her sight? Her thoughts were interrupted when someone grabbed the back of her shirt and hoisted her into the air.

"Hey!" Cried Kat again, "Put me down, this is just bullying." Danny could see an orange blur approaching, so he held the pink haired ninja towards it, thinking it would make her slow down. Sure enough, it did. Ana slowed down to try to rethink her strategy. Danny took the opportunity to grab Ana in a similar position, kicking her sword away. Now, both ninjas were in his hands, and the first thing he thought to do? Start spinning.

Ana squealed with delight, laughing and having fun, forgetting this was a training mission. Kat tried to hide her enjoyment, but a few gleeful giggles did sneak out before she could stop herself. Then, without warning, Danny let go. Both flew back a good distance. Kat and Ana tried to recover from the dizziness and lunge at Danny. But he took off and away at high speed. Kat and Ana saw they were heading right towards each other, and weren't able to stop in time. They collided with each other, both stunned.

"I must say," said Sensei, "that was very clever. I wouldn't have thought to do that." They continued their training for a few hours, both sides having victories and losses in the pseudo battles, before finally deciding to call it for the day. Danny's curfew was soon.

"It's been...an experience for sure." Said Danny. Sensei nodded. Ana ran over and hugged Danny.

"Thank you!" She cried, like he just gave her a present, "that was so much fun." Kat tried to deny it to herself...but she'd had fun too. Danny patted Ana's shoulder, the best he could do about returning the hug.

"Will you be here tomorrow? We must keep training." Insisted Sensei.

"I should be free tomorrow," Said Danny, "but starting Monday I'll have school again."

"Surely the school will understand," said Sensei, as if going to school wasn't a good enough excuse not to practice for saving the world, "that they cannot teach to a destroyed city."

"You'd be surprised." Danny said, only half kidding. "Well anyway, I should probably be home soon."

"Farewell, Mr. O'Connor." Said Sensei, "if you continue to train with Kat and Ana the way you did today, I am sure that we will all be safer when the demon shows his foul hand."

…

At first it had seemed like a great idea, but now, Mona was majorly questioning the wisdom of her decision. She stood atop one of the tallest buildings in Diamond City, looking down to the cold, unforgiving streets below, and the bevy of cars driving on them.

"Danny has that danger sense." Said Mona to herself, "I really hope he senses me in time." She took a step to the edge, but stopped herself, getting cold feet. "You could always text him... oh wait, I don't have his number." Mona started again, only to stop again, "you can find him at school...oh wait, he may not be there." She started again, when out of the blue, she felt cold and wet. She looked at the sky, rain was slamming down, pelting her body with icy drops.

"Was it...raining five seconds ago?" Mona figured there were better ways to draw out Danny, but as she turned to get back onto the roof and leave, she felt her foot slip out from under her due to the wet stone under her feet. Mona slipped, and barely managed to grab the ledge. Now, here she was, hanging for dear life over Emerald Street during rush hour, and it was raining. Mona was in pretty good shape, so normally she could pull herself up. But with the slipperiness from the rain? Mona was lucky she was still hanging on. There was only one logical thing to do.

"HELP!" Mona screamed at the top of her lungs. Her grip was getting looser every second. A few more, and Mona would be taking the express route straight to terra ferma. She made the mistake of looking down. The ground, easily a few hundred feet down, now seemed even lower, a few thousand feet now. Her fingers began burning, and she knew there wasn't much time left. "DANNY!" She shouted. "IF YOU CAN HEAR ME, I KINDA NEED A HERO RIGHT NOW!" And with that, her fingers finally slipped off the ledge. Mona became aware of the horrid sensation of falling, knowing it was to her death. The cold, wet air felt even colder and wetter as she fell, as the top of the building went further and further.

But suddenly, Mona felt the fall slow, and something warm against her back. She felt strong arms wrap around her stomach, but not in a harmful way, and relief flooded her.

"Hi," the voice Mona wanted to hear said. "Maybe next time you wanna base jump off a building, bring a parachute."

"Thank Palutena you're here, Danny." she said. "Before you ask, I had a very good reason to be up there."

"Oh?" Said Danny, "Care to enlighten?"

"I need to talk to you about something." Danny landed on a different roof top and set Mona down.

"Well," he said, "I'm listening."

"So…" Mona clearly was thinking hard about how to phrase her next sentence, as evidenced by the fact she was playing with her hair and avoiding Danny's gaze for a moment.

 _No point beating around the bush._ Thought Mona. She looked at Danny and finally got it off her chest. "Can I...crash at your place for a while?" Danny's eyes widened, clearly not what he was expecting.

"But...why?" he asked her.

"Look, I really _really_ need a break from my dad. I just cannot deal with him after he nearly got me killed. But I can't go to where I'd usually go to avoid him, it's the first place he'll look. I need a new hiding place. So...please?" Mona then gave Danny her best puppy dog eyes. She could tell he was mulling it over.

"I...I guess." He said. "Just...be prepared for some screeching. I've already missed my curfew and when my mom sees I brought a girl she doesn't know home…" Danny was half expecting Mona to cancel now, but instead, without a word, she wrapped her arm around his shoulder and jumped, swinging her legs up.

Danny took the que and moved his arms to catch her, now carrying Mona. He could swear he felt Mona's pulse quicken as he lifted her, but he couldn't be sure so he wrote it off as nothing.

About five minutes later, Danny landed on his front lawn, and set Mona down. For a large portion of the flight, he'd been rehearsing in his head just how he was gonna tell his mother that Mona would be staying for a while. Time was now out, and he just had to use whatever he could grasp from the bed of straws. Danny opened the door and gestured Mona inside. Danny could smell the cigarette smoke, and soon saw the image of his mother sitting in a chair with the lamp on. That meant one thing: big trouble.

"Daniel Albert O'Connor." His mother basically snarled. "Who in the world do you think you are?" She stood, walking towards them. "First, you miss your curfew, and now you bring some random broad I don't know into my house, without asking? Trying to get a quickie in without me noticing?" Danny's face flushed at the suggestion, but he knew better than to protest mid-lecture. "Oh, you're looking at two weeks of-" but before his mother could really start tearing into him, something unexpected happened.

"SHUT UP!" Shouted Mona. Both mother and son looked at Mona, stunned. "Your son has a damn good reason for missing curfew. He saved my life, and not for the first time. Maybe you don't watch the news, but your son is a superhero. He's saved a lot of lives in just a few days and the last thing he needs is some old bag yelling at him. So, how about, instead of nagging, you make him a sandwich?!" Mona paused, hearing a gurgling sound. "In fact," she resumed, "make us _both_ a sandwich! NOW!" The older woman's gaze darted between Mona and Danny a few times. Then, something happened: For the first time in...ever, Danny's mother yielded, going to the kitchen to make the sandwiches. Once she was out of sight, Mona turned partly around and looked at Danny.

"So...she always like this?"

"You haven't seen every side of her yet." Danny confessed.

"When will I see the _nice_ side?" Pressed Mona.

"If she even has one…" Danny offhandedly said. The girl turned fully to face him. Her hands on her hips and her eyebrow arched. Clearly, she wanted to hear more. Danny cleared his throat and began. "That old myth about how storks deliver babies? I'm pretty sure that's what happened, because I know literally nothing about my dad. I have a feeling that may have affected my mom. She drinks, nearly constantly, and that...well you can imagine it doesn't put her in a good position to do much of anything, least of all be nice. It's only when the planets align that she actually acts somewhat nice." Mona was silent for a moment, as if mulling over what Danny had said.

"Don't worry." She finally said. "I'll make that nice side come out more often."

…

"So, that kid thinks of himself as some kinda superhero?" Butch sat in a rundown apartment, its previous owner dead in an alley behind the building. He took a seat on the lumpy bed, noticing a rat scuttling across the floor, about the size of a fireman's boot sole. He played with the idea of frying it but decided to spare his life for now, maybe he'd even give it a name. "I notice he tends to go where the danger is. I'll be sure to test his reflexes later on. I got some good ideas for that." Butch smirked wickedly. "But, tell me, demon. Why did you just take control of me like that, without some kind of warning?"

"I told you," said the demon's voice. He could hear it in his ears, as if the demon was sitting next to him. "I have my own affairs, and we just happened to come across some right at that moment. I had forgotten to explain it to you then and there, but I will not have to wrest control from you if you help me out."

"I guess I could make a note of that," said Butch, "what exactly is the thing you gotta do?"

"I plan to wipe out the entire Iga Ninja Clan," said the demon. "Those two little girls we saw are part of it. Due to events a long time ago, I have a personal interest in seeing them all wiped out."

"Oh, what the hell?" Butch figured, "What's the blood of two little girls on my hands? Sure, if you sense them, let me know. I'll wipe them out for you."

"You are a kind host," said the Demon. "We shall make a great team."

"We sure shall." Said Butch. Both had their own plans for what they wanted to do. Which side would ultimately get what they wanted? If Butch were to ask, he may not like the answer.


End file.
